Legal
General Terms and Conditions
Translation for information only. Under § 3 (3) of these terms the language of the contract is German. The German version is the binding one; if the two differ, the German wording applies. German statutes are cited in their original form, because an English rendering of a section number would not point at anything.
These General Terms and Conditions apply to the use of the Foodlex software (the „Service“) via app.foodlex.app — on every plan, including the free plan and local mode without an account. The provisions on prices, payment, term and withdrawal (§§ 4, 6, 7) apply to paid plans only.
§ 1 Scope and provider
(1) The provider and contracting party is:
Stephan Buchfink
Adlerstraße 26
68199 Mannheim
Germany
Email: kontakt@foodlex.app
VAT ID: DE464397468
(2) These terms apply to the use of the Service on every plan — paid and free alike, including the free plan and local mode without an account, between the provider and the user (a consumer within the meaning of § 13 BGB or a trader within the meaning of § 14 BGB). §§ 4, 6 and 7 apply to paid plans only. Deviating conditions of the user do not become part of the contract unless the provider expressly agrees to them in writing.
(3) As a small business within the meaning of § 19 UStG, the provider does not show VAT. All prices are final prices.
§ 2 Subject matter and description of services
(1) Foodlex is a web-based application for nutrition calculation and for producing food labelling under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (the FIC Regulation), in particular for managing ingredients and recipes, calculating nutrition values and marking allergens and additives.
(2) The specific scope of functions depends on the plan booked. The plans in force at the time the contract is concluded, and their scope (limits, features), follow from the plan overview at foodlex.app/en/pricing.
(3) Foodlex is a tool. Legal responsibility for the correctness and completeness of the labelling as published, in particular towards authorities and end consumers, remains with the user. The provider owes the provision of the software, not a legal review of the content the user creates.
(4) The Service is aligned with the labelling requirements of the European Union, in particular the FIC Regulation; in addition it supports the requirements of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and, to the extent indicated in the application, the requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Service provides a separate market that calculates on the UK composition tables (CoFID) and produces labels in English; in substance it continues to follow the requirements of the European Union. It does not separately reflect deviations of the version of the FIC Regulation in force there or of supplementary national rules — in particular the particulars for food prepacked for direct sale — compliance with which the user checks (paragraph 3). The provider directs its offering at commercial users in the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America. The offering is not directed at consumers outside the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Access to the website from other states, and the existence of pages in other languages, do not constitute a directing of the offering at those states.
(5) The Service generates labelling on the basis of the data entered by the user and of a snapshot of the applicable rules and official tables taken at a particular point in time; that snapshot is indicated in the application. Rules, reference values and official tables can change. No suitability for any particular purpose, authority or market is owed or warranted. Paragraph 3 applies unchanged.
§ 3 Registration, account and conclusion of contract
(1) Using a paid plan requires a user account. The user undertakes to provide truthful information and to protect their access credentials from third parties.
(2) The presentation of the plans does not constitute a binding offer. By selecting a paid plan, confirming the order process and completing payment, the user makes a binding offer. The contract comes into effect when the provider confirms it or activates the plan.
(3) The text of the contract is not stored separately. These terms can be viewed and saved on this page at any time. The language of the contract is German.
§ 4 Prices and payment terms
(1) The prices stated at foodlex.app/en/pricing at the time of the order apply. Where payment is annual, the annual price stated there applies.
(2) Payment is processed by the payment service provider Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd.). Its terms for payment processing apply in addition. The provider does not receive or store complete payment credentials.
(3) The fee is due in advance for the respective billing period (monthly or annual). An invoice is provided for each payment.
(4) The provider is entitled to adjust prices for future billing periods. Price changes are communicated to the user in text form (for example by email) at least six weeks before they take effect. If the user does not object before they take effect and does not terminate, the change is deemed accepted; the notice draws separate attention to this.
§ 5 Free trial, student access and membership codes
(1) The provider may offer a one-off free trial of the Pro plan (reverse trial). After the trial ends, the account automatically moves to the free plan unless a paid plan has been booked beforehand. The trial itself incurs no costs and no payment obligation.
(2) Discounted or free student access requires proof of student status (for example a university email address) and is limited in time. The provider may require re-verification.
(3) The provider may grant temporary free access to the Pro plan through membership or promotional codes, for example in cooperation with associations. Codes may be limited in time and in the number of redemptions; only one code can be redeemed per account. After expiry the account automatically returns to the plan used before, without any need to terminate. Redeeming a code itself incurs no costs and no payment obligation. There is no entitlement to be issued a code.
§ 6 Term, renewal and termination
(1) A contract for a paid plan runs for the chosen billing period (one month or one year) and renews automatically for the same period unless terminated before it expires.
(2) The user may terminate the contract at any time with effect from the end of the current billing period. For contracts concluded by a consumer in electronic commerce, the provider makes an easily accessible termination option available (the „termination button“ under § 312k BGB) through which termination can be declared without logging in.
(3) The right to terminate for cause remains unaffected for both parties. Cause exists for the provider in particular where the user commits serious or repeated breaches of these terms.
(4) After the contract ends, the account moves to the free plan. The user is responsible for securing their data via the export function before any deletion.
§ 7 Consumers’ right of withdrawal
Consumers have a statutory right of withdrawal. Details follow from the instruction on the right of withdrawal. Where immediate commencement of performance was expressly requested, proportionate compensation may be payable for the period used up to the withdrawal.
§ 8 Rights of use and user obligations
(1) The provider grants the user a simple, non-transferable right to use the Service in accordance with the contract for the term of the contract. On Team plans, access may be used within the seats booked.
(2) The user undertakes not to misuse the Service, in particular not to upload unlawful content, not to impair the security of the Service and not to carry out automated bulk queries outside the functions provided.
(3) Content uploaded by the user (ingredients, recipes, master data) remains their responsibility. The user warrants that they are entitled to use the content they upload.
(4) The user is obliged to check every labelling generated with the Service for correctness and completeness before using it, and to approve it expressly. This covers in particular the list of ingredients, allergens, nutrition values, serving sizes and the mandatory particulars under the law applicable in the target market. The Service does not replace that check and does not provide legal or food-law advice.
(5) If a third party — in particular an authority, a purchaser, a competitor or an end consumer — asserts claims against the provider that are based on labelling used or approved by the user, or on data entered by the user, the user shall indemnify the provider against those claims and reimburse the necessary costs of legal defence. This does not apply to the extent that the user is not responsible for the claim being made. This paragraph does not apply to consumers.
§ 9 Availability and changes to the Service
(1) The provider endeavours to keep the Service highly available but does not owe uninterrupted availability. Maintenance, faults at upstream suppliers (for example hosting) and force majeure may lead to temporary restrictions.
(2) The provider may develop the Service further and adjust individual functions, as long as the core scope of services owed under the booked plan is preserved.
§ 10 Warranty and updates
(1) The statutory warranty rights apply, for consumer contracts on digital products in particular §§ 327 et seq. BGB. The provider supplies the digital product in the quality owed under the contract for the term of the contract.
(2) During the term of the contract the provider supplies the updates necessary to maintain the conformity of the digital product and informs the user of available updates in a suitable way (for example within the application or by email).
(3) If the digital product is defective, the user may demand subsequent performance in accordance with the statutory provisions and, where the statutory conditions are met, terminate the contract or reduce the fee. Claims for damages are governed by § 11.
(4) The statutory reversal of the burden of proof under § 327k BGB remains unaffected.
§ 11 Liability
(1) The provider is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, and under the German Product Liability Act.
(2) In cases of simple negligence the provider is liable only for breach of a material contractual obligation (a cardinal obligation) whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the user may regularly rely. In that case liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract.
(3) Liability is otherwise excluded. Liability for the legal correctness of the labelling the user creates with the Service is excluded (see § 2 (3)). Users are advised to back up their data regularly via the export function.
(4) Towards users who are not consumers, the provider's liability for damage caused by simple negligence is limited in total to the amount of the fees paid for the Service in the twelve months before the event causing the damage. Paragraph 1 remains unaffected.
(5) Towards commercial users outside the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland the following applies in addition and takes precedence:
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Service is provided „as is“ and „as available“, without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the provider does not warrant that any label, nutrition facts panel or other output generated by the Service complies with 21 CFR Part 101 or any other law or regulation. The user is solely responsible for reviewing and approving all output before use. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the provider shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, product recalls, regulatory fines or loss of goodwill.
The capitalisation of the preceding paragraph serves the conspicuousness required under the law of individual US states. Mandatory provisions of the law applicable at the user's place of business remain unaffected; this applies in particular to § 1668 of the California Civil Code, under which agreements exempting a party from responsibility for a violation of law are against the policy of the law.
§ 12 Data protection
Information on the processing of personal data is set out in the privacy policy.
§ 13 Changes to these terms
The provider may change these terms with effect for the future where this is necessary for good reason (for example changes in legislation, changes in case law, an extension of the range of services) and does not unreasonably disadvantage the user. Changes are communicated to the user in text form at least six weeks before they take effect. If the user does not object before they take effect, the amended terms are deemed accepted; the notice draws separate attention to this. If the user objects, a special right of termination exists effective from the date the change would take effect.
§ 14 Dispute resolution
The provider is neither obliged nor willing to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board (§ 36 VSBG). A reference to the former EU online dispute resolution platform is omitted, as that platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025.
§ 15 Final provisions
(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For consumers, this choice of law applies only in so far as it does not deprive the consumer of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has their habitual residence.
(2) If the user is a merchant, a legal person under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from and in connection with this contract is the provider’s registered office. The provider is additionally entitled to sue at the user’s general place of jurisdiction. Statutory exclusive places of jurisdiction remain unaffected. This agreement does not apply to consumers.
(3) Should a provision of these terms be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected.
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