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Privacy Policy of GermanFoods.org
Last Updated: December 15, 2013
GERMANFOODS.ORG is strongly committed to protecting your privacy and the security of your personal information.
This Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to the website you are currently viewing found at https://www.germanfoods.org and http://www.mygermanfoods.org (including but not limited to the “Consumer Pages” located at https://www.germanfoods.org/consumer, the “Trade Pages” located at https://www.germanfoods.org/trade, the “School Pages” located at https://www.germanfoods.org/schools and “The Exporter Pages” located at http://www.germanfoodsna.com) its mobile version and any of its sub-domains (collectively, the “Site”).
Who We Are
The Site is owned and maintained by German Foods North America, LLC, an organization registered as a limited liability corporation in the state of Delaware and having its office in Washington, DC, c/o The Representative of German Industry and Trade, 1776 I Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20006(“we,” “us,” “Company” or “Germanfoods”).
If you have any questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@germanfoods.org/
About This Policy
This Privacy Policy describes the information that we collect from you, how we collect this information, and what we do with it after we collect it.
By visiting or using the Site, you consent to the data collection and use practices described in this Policy. This Policy is intended to be read with, and not to limit, other terms of use agreements, policies or procedures that may appear on the Site.
This Policy does not apply to any information you may provide to us through other means; for example, at a live event, via mail, email or telephone. Likewise, this Policy does not apply to information collected directly or indirectly by our third party service providers.
The Site is intended for use in the United States of America. We make no representation that this Policy complies with laws or regulations in locations other than the United States of America. Those who choose to access the Site from other locations do so on their own initiative and at their own risk.
Does Germanfoods Ever Make Changes to its Privacy Policy?
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting a notice on the home page of the Site. If you have registered your email address with us, we may also notify you of material changes by sending you an email. You may not be able to receive notices from us if your cookies are not set to accept and/or are disabled. In any event, it will be your responsibility to periodically review this Policy for all changes and updates. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to this Policy will mean that you accept such changes.
What Type of Information Does Germanfoods Collect?
We collect the personal data that you volunteer while using the Site. This includes but is not limited to demographic, contact, profile, registration, survey responses and other personally identifying information.
By way of example (without limitation): when you place an order for a publication, respond to a special offer or enter a sweepstakes, we need to know your name, email address and mailing address. When you enter an interactive area of the Site you will also be asked to provide such information in connection with affirmatively accepting our Terms and Conditions.
We sometimes supplement the information that we receive with information from other sources and companies. Such outside information includes (but is not limited to) updated delivery and address information from carriers or third parties, which enables us to correct our records; page-view information; and search term and search results information.
We use analytic and reporting technologies to record non-personal information such as Internet domain and host names, Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser software, operating system types, page views, clickstream patterns, and the dates and times that the Site is accessed. We may use a variety of methods for automatically collecting such “passive” information. We also contract with third party vendors to help manage, monitor and optimize the Site and to help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising, communications and how visitors use the Site. To do this, we may use web beacons and cookies.
If you have the settings on your browser set accordingly, we will use cookies to track some of your information. The use of cookies is a very common practice on the Internet. Cookies are small pieces of information that we will place on the hard drive of your computer in order to create a personalized experience for you. Our third party service providers may also assign their own cookies to your hard drive, a process we do not control. You have the option to set your web browser to reject cookies and if you do so some features of the Site may not work. You should check the documentation of your browser to learn how to disable cookies.
We are able to determine the IP address from which you access the Site. Essentially, your IP address is a numerical address that is used by computers connected to the Internet to identify your computer so that data (such as web pages you want to view) can be transmitted to you. Your IP address does not tell us who you are.
What About Children’s Privacy?
We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 18.
Persons under the age of 18 may use interactive features of the Consumer Pages and the Trade Pages only through such person’s parent or guardian. The Consumer Pages and Trade Pages may contain information about alcoholic beverages.
REQUIREMENTS FOR WWW.MYGERMANFOODS.ORG.
Persons under the age of 18 using interactive features of the School Pages must adhere to the following requirements:
Do not under any circumstances reveal or post your last name. If you wish to identify yourself, you may post only your first name and a single initial for your last name, as in: John R.
You need not post your first name. If you wish to identify yourself, you may choose to do so only by initials, as in: J.R.
Do not under any circumstances reveal or post your home address.
Do not under any circumstances reveal or post your email address, instant messaging identifier or any screen name that would reveal your email address.
Do not under any circumstances reveal or post your telephone number or Social Security number.
If you have any questions about what information you may post and what you may not, do not post any information before consulting your parent or legal guardian.
What Does Germanfoods Do With The Information It Collects?
Germanfoods uses the personal information collected from you to help us deliver information and services you request of us, to contact you about your requests if we have questions, to track the use of the Site and to improve the Site to serve you better.
You agree that we may use your information for the purposes described in this Policy.
If you sign up to receive our newsletter, we will use the email address you provide to send it to you. If you wish to be removed from our mailing list after having signed up, you may unsubscribe.
When Will Germanfoods Disclose My Information to Third Parties?
Germanfoods does not share, rent or trade your personal information with third parties for promotional purposes.
We may sell information we collect on the Site in conjunction with the disposition of Germanfoods’ assets in bankruptcy and/or through merger or acquisition. In the event Germanfoods goes through a business transition, such as a merger or acquisition by or with another company, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal information will likely be among the assets transferred.
We may disclose information (including personally identifiable information) about you to our Affiliates. For purposes of this Policy, “Affiliates” means any person or entity which directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with us, whether by ownership or otherwise.
We reserve the right to disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process or government request served on us; (b) protect and defend our rights or property; or (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of a user of the Site, or the public.
As needed we may also disclose information we collect on the Site to third-party service providers we retain to provide goods and services to us, including but not limited to reports, analyses, technical support, hosting and maintenance, credit card processing, fraud screening and developing applications. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent such third parties from disclosing your personal information, except for the purpose of providing the services in question. We cannot guarantee that such third parties will not disclose your personal information.
Security
The security of your personal information is important to us.
We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. However, people who try and bypass security systems, or “hackers,” are often very skilled at breaking through security systems, and therefore we can make no guarantee that your information will be 100% safe. For your own information and protection on the Site and on the Internet in general, please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information, that information can be collected and used by others. Similarly, if you post personal information in public places, you may receive unsolicited e-mail messages.
How Can I Access My Personal Information?
You may contact us to update, correct and request information about the data we collect about you, by sending an email to: info@germanfoods.org . We may require proof of your identity before providing any such information. We reserve the right to refuse to provide you with copies of your personal data, but we will give reasons for any such refusal. Appropriate reasons for refusal may include, but are not limited to: administrative burden, expense and security concerns.
You should be aware that it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information you have provided to us from our system. The need to back-up our systems to protect information from inadvertent loss means that a copy of your personally identifiable information may exist in a non-erasable form that will be difficult or impossible for us to locate. After receiving your request, however, all personally identifiable information stored in databases we actively use and other readily searchable media we control will be updated, corrected, changed or deleted, as appropriate, as soon as reasonably practicable.
Other Sites
The Site may contain links to other websites not owned or operated by Germanfoods. If you click on such a link, you may be taken away from the Site to an entirely different website. This Policy applies only to the Site and not to any third-party website that may be accessed through links on the Site. It is important to note that such other websites may not follow the same privacy policies as Germanfoods and that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other websites. We encourage you to be aware when we link to other websites and to read the privacy policies or statements of each and every such website.
Questions?
We welcome feedback regarding this Policy. If at any time you believe that the Site has not adhered to this Policy, please contact us and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly investigate and, if necessary, correct the problem.
You accept that any dispute you may have with us involving privacy shall be governed by this Policy and any terms of use appearing on the Site, including limitations on damages. If you have any concern about privacy issues, please contact us as directed in this Policy.
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@germanfoods.org.