Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

We are a specialist provider of functional ingredients, bridging the gap between scientific formulation and supply chain excellence. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (foodinnovation.tech) (regardless of where you visit it from), interact with our technical team, or purchase our ingredients. It also tells you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

We operate in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

2. Important Information and Who We Are

2.1 Controller
Food Innovation Technology Ltd is the Controller and responsible for your personal data.
‍Company Number: 16724507
‍Registered Office: Unit 10, Delta Court, Manor Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, WD6 1FJ.

2.2 Contact Details:
We have appointed a data privacy lead to oversee questions in relation to this privacy policy. If you have any questions, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details below:
Name: David Ian Gray (Director)
‍Email address: david@foodinnovation.tech
‍Telephone: +44 7820 554 505
‍Postal address: 11-12 Belfield St, Ilkeston DE7 8DU, UK

‍Client Testing: Buyers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own application tests to ensure ingredient suitability for their specific manufacturing processes.
h we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services, or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.

3. The Data We Collect About You

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together follows:

• Identity Data: Includes first name, last name, username or similar identifier, and job title.
• Contact Data: May include billing address, delivery address, email address, and telephone numbers.
• Technical Data: May include internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.
• Usage Data: Includes information about how you use our website (e.g., which Ingredient Catalogues you download).
• ‍Commercial Profile Data: Includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us, your product interests (e.g., Cellulosics vs. Plant Proteins), and your communication preferences.
• Formulation Enquiry Data: Information provided in "Message" fields regarding specific technical challenges, recipe constraints, or ingredient applications. While often commercial in nature, this may contain personal identifiers.

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together follows:

3.1 Aggregated Data
‍We also collect, use, and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific product page.

4. How Is Your Personal Data Collected?

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

• Direct Interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact, and Commercial Profile Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email, or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:Enquire about our products (e.g., Methyl Cellulose, Soya Proteins);Book a "15-minute triage call" or technical consultation;Request a sample or download a product specification;Subscribe to our technical updates or publications; orGive us feedback or contact us.
• Automated Technologies or Interactions. As you interact with our website, we will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies and other similar technologies.
• Third Parties or Publicly Available Sources. We may receive personal data about you from various third parties:
  Calendly (USA): When you schedule a meeting with us.
  ‍LinkedIn/Industry Directories: Publicly available professional information used for B2B prospecting.

5. How We Use Your Personal Data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Performance of Contract: Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you (e.g., supplying ingredients).
• Legitimate Interests: Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
• Legal Obligation: Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.

5.1 Purposes for Which We Will Use Your Personal Data‍

• To register you as a new customer
• To process and deliver your order (including managing payments, fees, and charges, and collecting and recovering money owed to us)
• To manage our relationship with you (e.g., notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy, asking for a review)
• To respond to technical enquiries (e.g., triage calls regarding texture issues, recipe optimization)
• To administer and protect our business and this website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting, and hosting)
• To deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you
  
• To make suggestions and recommendations to you about goods or services that may be of interest to you (B2B Marketing)

5.2 Marketing

We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising.

B2B Marketing:
We process your data for direct marketing purposes on the basis of Legitimate Interests. As a professional in the food industry, we believe that information regarding functional ingredients, technical trends, and supply chain updates is relevant to your role. You have the right to object to this processing at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email we send.

Cookies:
You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.

6. Disclosures of Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table "Purposes for Which We Will Use Your Personal Data" above.

• Internal Third Parties: Other companies in the Food Innovation Technology Group (if applicable in future).
• External Third Parties:
  - Service Providers: Acting as processors based in the UK and USA who provide IT and system administration services. This includes Calendly (scheduling), Google/Microsoft (email and cloud storage), and Logistics Partners (couriers/haulage) who deliver your ingredients.
  - Professional Advisers: Acting as processors or joint controllers including lawyers, bankers, auditors, and insurers based in the UK who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance, and accounting services.
  - HM Revenue & Customs, Regulators, and other Authorities: Acting as processors or joint controllers based in the United Kingdom who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances.

7. International Transfers

We use third-party service providers (specifically Calendly for appointment scheduling) that are based outside the United Kingdom. Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

• Adequacy Decisions: We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the UK Government.
• Standard Contractual Clauses (IDTA): Where we use providers based in the US (like Calendly), we may use specific contracts approved for use in the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK. Calendly uses the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) with the UK Addendum to ensure compliance with UK data protection laws.

8. Data Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorized way, altered, or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

9. Data Retention

How long will you use my personal data for?
‍
We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or other requirements.

• Client Transaction Data: Retained for 6 years after the end of the financial year in which the transaction occurred (HMRC requirement).
• Technical Enquiry Data: Retained for 3 years to facilitate future technical support and formulation continuity.
• Marketing Data: Retained until you opt-out or unsubscribe.

10. Your Legal Rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data:

• Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request").
• Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you.
• Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
• Request restriction of processing of your personal data.
• Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party.
• Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us at david@foodinnovation.tech.