Privacy policy

1. Data protection at a glance

General information
Data protection is an important issue for us. We take both the protection of our users’ privacy and the security of our data very seriously. That is why we handle your data confidentially and properly.

We comply with the provisions of the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the other relevant European regulations and would like to inform you in detail and transparently about the processing of your personal data in this privacy policy. Personal data is all data that can be related to you personally, e.g. name, address, email addresses or user behavior. With regard to the other terms used below, such as “controller” or “processor”, we refer to the definition catalog of the definitions in Art. 4 GDPR.

Detailed information on the subject of data protection can be found in our privacy policy listed below this text.

Data collection on this website

Who is responsible for data collection on this website?
Data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. You can find their contact details in the section “Information on the controller” in this privacy policy.

How do we collect your data?
On the one hand, your data is collected when you provide it to us. This may, for example, be data that you enter in a contact form.

Other data is collected automatically or with your consent by our IT systems when you visit the website. This is primarily technical data (e.g. internet browser, operating system or time of the page view). This data is collected automatically as soon as you enter this website.

What do we use your data for?
Some of the data is collected to ensure that the website is provided without errors. Other data can be used to analyze your user behavior.

What rights do you have with regard to your data?
You have the right to receive information about the origin, recipient and purpose of your stored personal data free of charge at any time. You also have the right to request the correction or deletion of this data. If you have given your consent to data processing, you can revoke this consent at any time for the future. You also have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. The supervisory authority is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia, Kavalleriestr. 2-4, 40213 Düsseldorf. However, you can also contact any other supervisory authority under data protection law.

You can contact us at any time if you have further questions on the subject of data protection.

Analysis tools and tools from third-party providers
When you visit this website, your surfing behavior may be statistically evaluated. This is mainly done with so-called analysis programs.
Detailed information on these analysis programs can be found in the following privacy policy.

2. Hosting

We host the content of our website on our own servers.

3. General notes and mandatory information

Data protection
The operators of these pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy. When you use this website, various personal data is collected. Personal data is data that can be used to identify you personally. This privacy policy explains what data we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this is done. We would like to point out that data transmission over the Internet (e.g. when communicating by email) may be subject to security vulnerabilities. Complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

Information on the controller
The controller responsible for data processing on this website is
GfPS mbH
Talbotstraße 21, 52068 Aachen
Phone: +49 241 51 00 50 – 0
E-mail: info@gfps.de

Storage period
Unless a more specific storage period has been specified in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for processing the data no longer applies. If you assert a justified request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g. retention periods under tax or commercial law); in the latter case, the deletion will take place after these reasons no longer apply.

General information on the legal basis for data processing on this website
If you have consented to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR and Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a GDPR, insofar as special categories of data pursuant to Art. 9 para. 1 GDPR are processed.

In the event of express consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, data processing is also carried out on the basis of Art. 49 para. 1 lit. a GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or access to information in your end device (e.g. via device fingerprinting), the data processing is also carried out on the basis of § 25 para. 1 TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

If your data is required to fulfill the contract or to carry out pre-contractual measures, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR. Furthermore, we process your data if this is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR. Data processing may also be based on our legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR must take place. Information on the relevant legal bases in each individual case is provided in the following paragraphs of this privacy policy.

Data protection officer
We have appointed a data protection officer.

You can contact our data protection officer at datenschutz@gfps.de or by post at the address GfPS mbH, Talbotstraße 21, 52068 Aachen.

Recipients of personal data
We work with various external parties as part of our business activities. In some cases, it is also necessary to transfer personal data to these external bodies. We only pass on personal data to external bodies if this is necessary in the context of fulfilling a contract, if we are legally obliged to do so (e.g. passing on data to tax authorities), if we have a legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR or if another legal basis permits the transfer of data. When using processors, we only pass on our customers’ personal data on the basis of a valid contract for order processing. In the case of joint processing, a joint processing agreement is concluded.

Withdrawal of your consent to data processing
Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You can revoke any consent you have already given at any time. The legality of the data processing carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

Right to object to the collection of data in special cases and to direct marketing (Art. 21 GDPR)

IF THE DATA PROCESSING IS BASED ON ART. 6 ABS. 1 LIT. E OR F GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA AT ANY TIME ON GROUNDS RELATING TO YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. THE RESPECTIVE LEGAL BASIS ON WHICH PROCESSING IS BASED CAN BE FOUND IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU OBJECT, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA CONCERNED UNLESS WE CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPELLING LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING WHICH OVERRIDE YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OR FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXERCISE OR DEFENSE OF LEGAL CLAIMS (OBJECTION UNDER ARTICLE 21(1) GDPR).

Right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority
In the event of infringements of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of their habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement. The right of appeal exists without prejudice to other administrative or judicial remedies.

Right to data portability
You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in fulfillment of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will only be done to the extent that it is technically feasible.

Information, correction and deletion
You have the right to free information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipient and the purpose of the data processing and, if applicable, a right to correction or deletion of this data at any time within the framework of the applicable legal provisions. You can contact us at any time if you have further questions on the subject of personal data.

Right to restriction of processing
You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. You can contact us at any time for this purpose. The right to restriction of processing exists in the following cases:

If you dispute the accuracy of your personal data stored by us, we generally need time to check this. You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data for the duration of the review.
If the processing of your personal data was/is carried out unlawfully, you can request the restriction of data processing instead of erasure.
If we no longer need your personal data, but you need it for the exercise, defense or assertion of legal claims, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of deletion.
If you file an objection pursuant to Art. 21 para. 1 GDPR, a balance must be struck between your interests and ours. As long as it has not yet been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data.
If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, this data may only be processed, apart from its storage, with your consent or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person or for reasons of important public interest of the European Union or of a Member State.

SSL or TLS encryption
This site uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as orders or inquiries that you send to us as the site operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the address line of the browser changes from “http://” to “https://” and by the lock symbol in your browser line.
If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Objection to advertising emails
We hereby object to the use of contact data published as part of our duty to provide a legal notice for the purpose of sending unsolicited advertising and information material. The operators of this website expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of the unsolicited sending of advertising information, such as spam e-mails.

4. Data collection on this website

Cookies
Our Internet pages use so-called “cookies”. Cookies are small data packets and do not cause any damage to your end device. They are either stored temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (permanent cookies) on your end device. Session cookies are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Permanent cookies remain stored on your end device until you delete them yourself or they are automatically deleted by your web browser.

Cookies may originate from us (first-party cookies) or from third-party companies (so-called third-party cookies). Third-party cookies enable the integration of certain services from third-party companies within websites (e.g. cookies for processing payment services).

Cookies have various functions. Many cookies are technically necessary, as certain website functions would not work without them (e.g. the shopping cart function or the display of videos). Other cookies can be used to evaluate user behavior or for advertising purposes.

Cookies that are required to carry out the electronic communication process, to provide certain functions that you have requested (e.g. for the shopping cart function) or to optimize the website (e.g. cookies to measure the web audience) (necessary cookies) are stored on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR. 1 lit. f GDPR in conjunction with. § 25 para. 2 no. 2 TDDDG, unless another legal basis is specified. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of necessary cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. If consent to the storage of cookies and comparable recognition technologies has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of this consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG); consent can be revoked at any time.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. If cookies are deactivated, the functionality of this website may be restricted.
You can find out which cookies and services are used on this website in this privacy policy.

Consent management with compliance
Our website uses the consent technology from Complianz to obtain your consent to the storage of certain cookies on your end device or to the use of certain technologies and to document this in compliance with data protection regulations. The provider of this technology is Complianz B.V., Kalmarweg 14-5, 9723 JG Groningen, Netherlands (hereinafter referred to as “Complianz”).

Complianz is hosted on our servers, so no connection is established to the servers of the provider of Complianz. Complianz stores a cookie in your browser in order to be able to assign the consents you have given or revoke them. The data collected in this way is stored until you ask us to delete it, delete the Complianz cookie yourself or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies. Mandatory statutory retention obligations remain unaffected.

Complianz is used to obtain the legally required consent for the use of cookies. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c GDPR or our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR in conjunction with. § 25 TDDDG.

Server log files
We automatically collect and store information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:

Browser type and browser version
Operating system used
Referrer URL
Host name of the accessing computer
Time of the server request
IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources.
This data is collected on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free presentation and optimization of its website – the server log files must be recorded for this purpose. No conflicting interests of website visitors are apparent.

Contact form
If you send us inquiries via the contact form, your details from the inquiry form, including the contact data you provide there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the inquiry and in the event of follow-up questions. We will not pass on this data without your consent

This data is processed on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, if your request is related to the performance of a contract or is necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the inquiries addressed to us (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) if this has been requested; consent can be revoked at any time.

We will retain the data you provide on the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g. after fulfilling your request). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.

Inquiry by e-mail, telephone or fax
If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your inquiry including all personal data (name, inquiry) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass on this data without your consent.

The data you send to us via contact requests will remain with us until you ask us to delete it, revoke your consent to storage or the purpose for data storage no longer applies (e.g. after your request has been processed). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular statutory retention periods – remain unaffected.

Use of Our Web Portal for Online Order Entry

We provide our customers with a password-protected web portal through which laboratory orders can be entered online. Customer accounts are created by us; the login credentials are sent by email to the contact person designated by you.

After an order has been entered in the web portal, the customer receives an email containing a sample submission form summarizing the order, which must be enclosed when sending the samples to GfPS mbH. An order is deemed accepted only once the corresponding samples have been received by us; entering an order in the web portal alone does not constitute acceptance. It is not possible to retrieve results or processing statuses via the web portal.

In connection with the use of the web portal, we collect, process, and use personal data of our customers’ contact persons. This includes in particular:

Master / identification data

Salutation
Title
First name
Last name
Gender
Preferred language (e.g. “DE / German”)

Organizational and Functional Data

Associated company / site
Function / role in the company (e.g. QA Microbiology, QA Supervisor, QM, QA Hygiene)
Assignment to a target group (e.g. “Client”)
Assignment of an internal responsible contact person (name of the internal employee)

Contact Data

Business telephone number
Business mobile number
Fax number
Business email address
If applicable: personal homepage / direct contact URL

Account / Status Data

Indicator showing whether a contact is “blocked” (status of the access/account)

Free-text / Correspondence Data

Free-text field “Agreement” (may contain additional personal information, e.g., arrangements, special contact instructions, etc.)

In addition, we collect, process, and use the order- and sample-related information you enter in the web portal. These details generally relate exclusively to products or samples and do not constitute personal data on their own. This includes in particular:

Name/description of the sample(s)
Indication of whether the sample contains antimicrobial substances
Product-specific validation information (e.g. laboratory or sample number)
Article number, production batch, production date
Number of samples and number of samples to be tested
Notes on processing
Notes for the test report

Certain areas of the web portal contain free-text fields (in particular for comments). It is therefore possible that customers may enter personal data there in exceptional cases, even though this information is not explicitly requested by us.

In such cases, we process this information solely for the purpose of handling the respective order and otherwise based on the legal grounds described in this privacy notice. We kindly ask our customers to avoid entering personal data in free-text fields whenever possible—particularly special categories of personal data as defined in Art. 9 GDPR.

The processing of this data takes place for the purpose of setting up and managing customer accounts, enabling online entry of laboratory orders, and generating the required sample accompanying document. Furthermore, the data is processed to assign incoming samples to the orders captured in the web portal and to subsequently perform and complete the respective laboratory orders. The processing is therefore necessary for initiating and fulfilling contractual relationships with our customers and to ensure proper, traceable, and secure processing of orders.

The legal basis for processing the personal data collected via the web portal is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, insofar as the processing is required to establish, perform, or terminate the contractual relationship with our customers, or is carried out to take steps at the customer’s request prior to entering into a contract, in particular for electronically entering and transmitting an order before acceptance through receipt of the samples.

The personal data stored in connection with the customer account is retained for the duration of the business relationship and subsequently deleted or blocked in accordance with statutory limitation and retention periods. Order- and sample-related data is stored in accordance with commercial, tax, and other statutory retention obligations and deleted upon expiry of the applicable periods, unless overriding legitimate interests (e.g., to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims) require otherwise.

5. Plugins and tools

Google Fonts (local hosting)
This site uses so-called Google Fonts, which are provided by Google, for the uniform display of fonts. The Google Fonts are installed locally. A connection to Google servers does not take place.

Further information about Google Fonts can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

6. eCommerce and payment providers

Processing of customer and contract data
We collect, process and use personal customer and contract data to establish, structure the content of and amend our contractual relationships. We collect, process and use personal data about the use of this website (usage data) only insofar as this is necessary to enable or charge the user for the use of the service. The legal basis for this is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR.

The customer data collected will be deleted after completion of the order or termination of the business relationship and expiry of any existing statutory retention periods. Statutory retention periods remain unaffected.

Data transmission upon conclusion of a contract for services and digital content
We only transmit personal data to third parties if this is necessary in the context of contract processing, for example to the credit institution commissioned with payment processing.
No further transmission of data takes place or only if you have expressly consented to the transmission. Your data will not be passed on to third parties without your express consent, for example for advertising purposes.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

7. own services

Handling of applicant data
We offer you the opportunity to apply to us (e.g. by email, post or online application form). Below we inform you about the scope, purpose and use of your personal data collected as part of the application process. We assure you that your data will be collected, processed and used in accordance with applicable data protection law and all other statutory provisions and that your data will be treated in strict confidence.

Scope and purpose of data collection
If you send us an application, we will process your associated personal data (e.g. contact and communication data, application documents, notes taken during interviews, etc.) insofar as this is necessary to decide on the establishment of an employment relationship. The legal basis for this is Section 26 BDSG under German law (initiation of an employment relationship), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (general contract initiation) and – if you have given your consent – Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR. Consent can be revoked at any time. Your personal data will only be passed on within our company to persons who are involved in processing your application.

If the application is successful, the data submitted by you will be processed on the basis of § 26 BDSG and Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR for the purpose of implementing the employment relationship in our data processing systems.

Data retention period
If we are unable to make you a job offer, you reject a job offer or withdraw your application, we reserve the right to retain the data you have submitted on the basis of our legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR) for up to 6 months from the end of the application process (rejection or withdrawal of the application). The data is then deleted and the physical application documents are destroyed. The storage serves in particular as evidence in the event of a legal dispute. If it is evident that the data will be required after the expiry of the 6-month period (e.g. due to an impending or pending legal dispute), deletion will only take place when the purpose for further storage no longer applies.

Data may also be stored for longer if you have given your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) or if statutory retention obligations prevent deletion.

Inclusion in the applicant pool
If we do not make you a job offer, you may have the option of being included in our applicant pool. If you are accepted, all documents and details from your application will be transferred to the applicant pool so that you can be contacted in the event of suitable vacancies.

Inclusion in the applicant pool is based exclusively on your express consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). Giving your consent is voluntary and is not related to the current application process. The data subject can withdraw their consent at any time. In this case, the data will be irrevocably deleted from the applicant pool, provided there are no legal grounds for retention.

The data from the applicant pool will be irrevocably deleted no later than two years after consent has been granted.

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PRIVACY POLICY