Privacy policy

This policy applies to processing of personal data about you when entering into contact with Puratos. 

We are Puratos NV/SA, with our registered office at Industrialaan 25, 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium, and registered in the register of legal entities under the number BE 0438 632 416, phone number: +32 2 481 44 44, e-mail: dataprivacy@puratos.com

We expect that you only communicate personal data about yourself to us. If you also communicate personal data about other people to us, then you must ensure that you are entitled to do so. We also expect that the personal data that you communicate to us is correct and that, if specific data changes, you promptly inform us of this change.

The purposes for which we process your personal data depend on how you enter in contact with us.

4.1 You browse on our website

• We process information about your use of our website, in order to remember your choices, manage and improve our website. We refer to our cookie policy for more information about this.

4.2 You contact us (e.g. by filling in a form on our website, by sending us an e-mail)

• We process your personal data in order to answer and manage your request (e.g. request for information, subscription to our newsletter, complaint). This processing is based on your consent.

4.3 You create a personal account on our website or purchase Puratos products/services

• We process your personal data for client management, based upon the necessity to perform the contract (e.g. creating an account, service delivery, using the webshop, invoicing etc.) to which you are a party. Without your personal data, we cannot perform this contract and deliver our products/services.

4.4 You subscribe to a Puratos activity 

• We may process your personal data when you register for a Puratos activity (e.g. an event, a workshop or a webinar) because this is necessary for the performance of our agreement with you to organize this activity. We share your personal data with event organisers and commercial partners involved in the organisation and delivery of the event, insofar as this is necessary for the performance of the contract relating to your registration and participation (e.g. participant administration, access management, logistics, or event communications). These parties will process your data solely for purposes related to the event.

4.5 Your registration for and participation in the Puratos Sensory programme

The Puratos Sensory programme aims at helping us to better understand consumers’ food expectations and taste preferences. We give you the opportunity to taste our products, to participate in group discussions, to be interviewed and/or to answer certain questions. Your feedback allows us to improve our products and services as well as those of our partners. To that extent, we process the following categories of personal data:

• your contact details (e.g. your name, postal address and email address) for sending products and questionnaires. This processing is based upon the necessity for performing our agreement with you. Without your contact details, we are unable to register your participation in the Puratos Sensory programme. 
• other personal data that you have provided to us by answering the questionnaires (e.g. your food habits). We process this personal data based on your consent in better understanding your preferences and that allows us to send you (questions about) products that might be of interest to you. You are not obliged to provide us with this information.
• personal data concerning your health or religious beliefs if you provide us with such information when answering questions that are related to such matters. We do this processing with a view to ensuring your safety (regarding food allergies) and respecting your beliefs (such as any food restrictions), in the context of your participation in our Puratos Sensory programme. We only process this personal data after we have received your explicit consent by answering such questions. You are not obliged to provide us with this information.
• •he information you have provided us with by answering our questionnaires after tasting our products or during interviews or group discussions. This data will be processed based upon the necessity for performing our agreement with you as processing your feedback is part of the participation in our Puratos Sensory Programme. Once received we will pseudonymize and aggregate this data to gain more knowledge about what the public likes about our products or services (or those of our partners).

4.6 In any case

• We may process your personal data for the management of compliance and disputes (e.g. prevention of unlawful activities, prevention of abuse of the Puratos group’s resources, defense of legal claims).
• We may pseudonymize your personal data and process aggregate data for research and development, based on our legitimate interests (e.g. statistics about sales, market analysis, and development of products/services). Within the Puratos group, we believe that research and development can lead to enhancement of customer experience, product improvement and innovation, which will help the persons concerned by our products/services (such as customers, distributors, suppliers and end consumers). Research and development may involve compiling a profile. All identifying elements, such as your name, your address, etc., are eliminated. This profiling has no effect on you, except to the extent that this processing activity might lead to enhancement of customer experience, product improvement and innovation, which is an advantage for you.
• Puratos NV may also process your personal data as a controller, at a group level, for global management and global research, based on its legitimate interests, those of the other group entities and their stakeholders. We believe that this is necessary for the efficiency, consistency and continuity of the Puratos group operations and for the enhancement of customer experience, product improvement and innovation, which will help the persons concerned by our products/services and eventually contribute to safeguarding and promoting the economic, commercial, social and financial interests of the Puratos group.  
• We may process your personal data for the direct marketing of our products and services, as well as those of other companies within the Puratos group, based on our legitimate interests and/or your consent (where required or provided). We consider it important to keep you informed about our activities, products, and services. You are always provided with the opportunity to opt-out of this processing, free of charge.
• For direct marketing purposes, we may create a profile based on your personal data in order to improve customer experience and provide personalized or tailored offers. Such profiling has no legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Depending on the purpose of the processing, your personal data may be shared with the following categories of recipients:

5.1 Companies within the Puratos group

Your personal data may be shared with other entities of the Puratos group where necessary for:

• group-level management and administration,
• global research and development,
• global marketing activities (where consent is required and obtained),
• compliance, risk management, and dispute handling.

Such sharing is based on Puratos’ legitimate interests or other applicable legal bases, and subject to appropriate safeguards.

5.2 Processors acting on behalf of Puratos

We may share your personal data with service providers that process personal data on our behalf and under our instructions, including providers of:

• IT systems and hosting services,
• website management and analytics,
• customer relationship management tools,
• marketing and communication services,
• event, webinar, and survey platforms,
• research support services.

5.3 Commercial partners

We may share your personal data with event organisers and commercial partners involved in the organisation and delivery of the event, insofar as this is necessary for the performance of the contract relating to your registration and participation (e.g. participant administration, access management, logistics, or event communications). These parties will process your data solely for purposes related to the event.

5.4 Service providers necessary for contract performance

In the context of purchases, account management, or participation in programmes, your personal data may be shared with third parties such as:

• financial institutions,
• payment service providers,
• delivery and logistics partners.

5.5 Research and scientific institutions

In the context of research and development activities, Puratos may share pseudonymised or aggregated data with scientific or research institutions.

5.6 Public authorities and third parties where legally required

Your personal data may be disclosed to:

• public authorities, regulators, or supervisory authorities,
• police or judicial authorities,

where Puratos is legally obliged to do so or where such disclosure is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

As Puratos is a global company, we can transfer your personal data to countries outside the European Union. Each transfer will be based on appropriate safeguards (adequacy decision and/or standard data protection clauses of the European Commission combined with supplementary measures).

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including the provision of our products and services, customer relationship management, and compliance with legal and contractual obligations.

Where you maintain an active relationship with us (for example by making purchases, requesting information, subscribing to communications, or participating in programmes such as the Puratos Sensory programme), your data will be retained for the duration of that relationship.

After the end of the relationship, your personal data will be retained for a limited period necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and for legitimate business record-keeping purposes. Where possible, data will thereafter be deleted or anonymised.

You can contact us at dataprivacy@puratos.com to exercise the following rights, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the applicable legislation:

• You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where the processing of your personal data is based on consent. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
• You have the right to obtain confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and, if so, to access those data and receive information about the processing.
• You have the right to request correction of inaccurate personal data and to have incomplete data completed.
• You have the right to request deletion of your personal data where the legal conditions for erasure are met, for example where the data are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected or where you withdraw consent.
• You have the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances, for example while the accuracy of the data is contested or while an objection is being assessed.
• You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests based on your particular situation unless we have compelling legitimate grounds. Where your personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes, you have the absolute right to object at any time, after which the processing for such purposes will cease.
• You have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to transmit those data to another controller, where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
• You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, that produces legal effects or similarly significant effects concerning you, except where permitted by law.
• You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or where the alleged infringement occurred.

For Belgian citizens, this is:

• Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit/Autorité de Protection des Données
• Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussel
• +32 (0)2 274 48 00
• contact@apd-gba.be

For EEA citizens: we refer to this list of Supervisory Authorities for your local authority.