1. FOXLINK app

You are being invited to take part in the FOXLINK experience. Your input will be part of a research project called FOX Food Processing in a Box which is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. We would like to ask you for your consent to participate in the study and for us to processes your personal data in compliance with this Consent form, the FOXLINK Privacy Policy and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Before you decide to participate in this study, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take the time to read the following information carefully. If anything is unclear to you or you need more information, please contact Camila Massri (camila.massri@eufic.org).

2. Project description and aim of the study

The FOXLINK app serves as a communication platform between food scientists, suppliers and consumers. The goal of this app is to learn about how consumers engage with sustainable local food systems by measuring consumer interest and sentiment of consumer input. This involves your reactions to the content provided and your response to the polls incorporated to the app. Please note that some provided content might differ across consumer groups. This is designed to understand which communication strategies are the most effective in engaging app users

3. Data Controller, research group and principal investigator

The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) and Aarhus University (Denmark) are Data Controllers for the collection and processing of your personal data. The primary investigator for this research study is Klaus G Grunert (klg@mgmt.au.dk). More information on respective roles and responsibilities of the Data Controllers are available in the FOXLINK Privacy Policy.

4. Benefits and risks

While using the app and participating in this study, you will have access to information related to your local community, new technologies and will be able to get to know and interact with local actors (farmers, producers, etc..). Meanwhile, the information gathered based on your preferences, likes, and interactions will help us understand better consumer behaviour with regards to sustainable local food systems, which is a benefit to the society.

There are no known or anticipated risks or discomforts associated with participating in this study beyond those encountered in normal everyday life. Participating in this study is entirely voluntary.

5. Type of personal data and when it is deleted/anonymized

We will ask you to create a profile and avatar/online identity for this study that should not contain your real name.

In this study we will collect, process, and store personal information as email address, the language you choose, your region of residence, rural/urban area of living, gender, your age and username. Moreover, comments to the app content will be collected, processed, and kept for the study. The data is collected to be used in the analysis of consumer engagement with the local sustainable food systems.

Processing of email addresses of FOXLINK users is needed only for the administration of the FOXLINK app. Therefore, these data will not be used in further analysis.

We will store your personal information in the form of your language setting, region of residence, comments to the app content, age, rural/urban area of living, gender, and username in a secure and confidential location. We will anonymize the data after the data collection ends in 2023. If the results are published, your name/username/avatar will not be used. Any results published will be in aggregated form, and your name/username/avatar and/or any specific information will not be published at any time.

6. Withdrawal of consent

Participation is voluntary and you may withdraw your consent at any time without stating a reason. If this is the case, contact Camila Massri (camila.massri@eufic.org). Please be aware that after the data collection stops, the data will be anonymized and therefore we cannot delete it from our database. By anonymized we mean that any information provided by users will not be able to be tracked back to the users.

Please read the following and click ‘Yes, I understand and agree’ if you have read and understood all terms and wish to participate in this initiative:

I confirm to have received, read, and understood the above information and that:

A. My participation is voluntary, and I may withdraw my consent and discontinue participation in the project at any time as specified in point 6. My refusal to participate will not result in any penalty.

B. By signing this agreement, I do not waive any legal rights or release EUFIC, Aarhus University, or its agents from liability for negligence.

C. I understand that the results of this research will be used for scientific purposes only and may be published. All data will be treated anonymously and confidentially at every stage of the research. Only aggregated statistics will appear in reports and publications.

D. I know that I can always contact the regional project partner for questions, complaints, or more information. I can find their contact information in the side menu of the app.

E. I understand that other people also taking part in this initiative may see my profile and some of my responses in public forum tasks (including my chosen username and avatar).

F. I give my consent to treat my personal data and to participate as a subject in the study as described above.