Privacy policy

This Global Privacy Policy ("Policy") describes how and when McCain Foods Limited, a company governed by the laws of New Brunswick, Canada, with worldwide headquarters at 8800 Main Street, Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick E7L 1B2, Canada, and its affiliates (collectively and individually, "McCain") collect, use and share personally identifiable information ("Personal Data").

What Personal Data do we collect?

We collect Personal Data to operate efficiently and provide you with the best possible services and user experience, but we only collect the information necessary to provide these services. In particular, we use:

Information on competitions, questions and programmes for Fidelity Cards - To enter competitions or raffles, ask a question or participate in a loyalty card programme, you must provide your full name and email address. We may also ask you to give us your postal address, your phone number, age, place of residence, family composition, background interests, social media info, profiles and contact information, and information about your McCain product usage. Specifically for loyalty programmes, we may also process company information (e.g. market segment or target audience) and the country from which you do business. If you ask a question, you may also voluntarily provide other limited information. If you participate in a competition or raffle, we might ask for a photo and a description of your participation. In some cases, we may collect information on purchase frequency, but always on an anonymous and aggregated basis so that we can track our marketing initiatives.
Website Information - When you visit our website (or special purpose portals) we automatically store your computer's Internet Protocol (IP) address, along with other technical information about your computer and website use, such as your browser type and version, time zone, and operating system and platform. If we conduct extensive market research, we may also store the pages you visited on a McCain website, the links you clicked on, the sites you visited before visiting a McCain website, emails from McCain that you opened, forwarded or used to click through to McCain's website, etc. We also use cookies on our websites. For more information about that, please check the Cookies and Other Technologies section at the end of this Policy, or read our Global Cookie Policy.
Information on registration on portals - If you decide or are invited to visit a target-specific McCain portal, for example, portals for specific suppliers, you must provide your full name, mailing address and email address. You may also be asked to provide information about the nature of the specific portal, such as non-real-time geolocation data, supplier quality results and statistics, photos, videos and opinions. In some particular cases, you may be asked to provide social security numbers, VAT numbers and the like.
Passwords - If you create an online account on any of the McCain websites or portals, we will store your password and, in some cases, a secret question and its answer.
Footage from camera surveillance systems - When you enter our production facilities and workplaces, in accordance with applicable legislation, we may process footage of you that we obtain through our surveillance cameras.
Information we collect on social media accounts - If we interact with your social media accounts, we may collect your email address, Twitter account, contact information on your Facebook profile, etc.
Information on R&D and market research - In our research on household or professional use of our products, we may store your name, your address, phone number, salary scale, educational level, employer, opinion on company issues or products, number of children, video footage of all research subjects and participating family members and, if applicable, their family situation. When processing your feedback through market research in shops or online, we may store your contact details.
Agricultural information - We process certain Personal Data such as name, contact details and possibly information about the farmer's family or his/her birthday, billing information, harvest statistics, photos of vehicles, houses and people etc. to maintain our relationship with our farmers. We may also collect GPS coordinates, to map our farmers' fields. If required by legal requirements, we also collect national register numbers or social security numbers. Our contract with farmers or suppliers reflects this in more detail
Visitor information - When you enter our premises, we may ask for your name, your contact details, your number plate, your identity card and so on for security reasons. For the sake of our food safety, we may also ask you to provide information about your health (e.g. information about open wounds, flu, etc.).
Photos and videos - When you participate in our internal or external events, meetings (with state officials, clients, etc.), conferences, etc., we may take photos or videos of you, either as part of a group or individually. We may also ask for Personal Data, such as your name, e-mail address or professional details. If you are a state official, we may also process data on your political opinions.
CVs and relevant information for recruitment - We collect your CV and other relevant information (such as your photo, language skills, education details, etc.) for recruitment purposes. We also record whether you are looking for permanent or temporary employment (as an employee, independent contractor, volunteer, agent or temporary worker). We may also ask you to take psychometric tests as part of the recruitment process, and we collect information on aspects of your personality relevant to the workplace. If your CV is incomplete or inaccurate, we will ask you to provide more information about your education and professional background, your address, contact details, qualifications, driving licence, gender, etc. We may also ask for your bank details and credit card number in case we need to reimburse travel or accommodation expenses you incurred to attend an interview. In certain jurisdictions, we may ask for your passport, your identity card or an extract from your criminal record, if and to the extent permitted by applicable laws. During the interview, we may ask you to provide information about your hobbies, personal interests, family composition, salary expectations, driving experience, etc. At McCain, we highly value diversity within our team. Therefore, we may also collect limited information about your diversity characteristics, but only to encourage more diversity within our team. We will not ask you any questions that we are not permitted to ask under applicable law. Upon your hiring, McCain's Employee Privacy Policy will provide you with more information on how your Personal Data will be treated in the employment context.
Purchase and purchase information - If you provide us with services as a third party (e.g. maintenance services, IT or consultancy services, etc.) or if you sell us products, we will collect the Personal Data required to perform the services or deliver the products (and pay related invoices). This Personal Data may include contact details, financial data, billing data, credit data, Personal Data about your staff, diplomas or certificates, driving licences, number plates, security data, etc. More info on this can be found in our contract with specific suppliers, vendors or contractors.
Information on the representatives of our B2B customers - To manage and develop our customer and sales relationships, we may collect certain Personal Data about representatives of potential, current and past B2B customers, such as their name, address, contact details, function in the company, birthday, family composition, personal interests and holiday plans. To comply with our billing and accounting obligations, we may collect certain Personal Data about representatives of current and past B2B customers, such as their name, address, contact details, function in the company, bank account numbers and billing details, VAT numbers, etc.
Information on individual consumers of our products - We may store your name, your phone number, email address, postal address, mobile phone number, preferred language and the McCain products you use or are interested in.
User-generated content that we get through our web presence - If you post material (e.g. photos, videos, etc.) or other info (e.g. comments) to a feed or a page of a McCain website, or to a feed or a page of a McCain social media account, we may use the Personal Data of or related to that material or information for the purposes listed below.
Information on creators - When McCain applies for a patent or similar registered intellectual property rights, we collect the names, addresses, contact details and full CVs of the individuals who developed or invented that McCain intellectual property right. We also process Personal Data to prepare and submit certain documentation (e.g. affidavits), which may contain additional Personal Data about those individuals.
Information on identity - When exercising your rights regarding our use of your Personal Data, we may in certain cases ask for a copy of your identity card or other proof of identity (e.g. driving licence), in order to verify your identity.

Why do we use your Personal Data?

We use your Personal Data for the purposes described below:

Information on competitions, questions and loyalty card programmes to contact you in connection with your enquiry or your participation in competitions or raffles, to manage your loyalty card programme, to personalise our services for you, to offer you our customer service and to monitor our customer service levels. In certain cases, we may use your Personal Data for external communications, for example to make a press release about the winner of a competition.
Website information to track and manage the competitions or raffles you enter or the questions you ask, to analyse trends, usage and activity with users on our website, to ensure its technological compatibility, to build websites that best meet the interests and preferences of our users, and to determine products, site features, recipes, advertisements and offers that you might be particularly interested in (e.g. as part of a comprehensive market research study). We also use website information to track and monitor the security of our website and prevent cyber security incidents. We may also use website information, to collect feedback on website usage, to provide IT support to online visitors and to measure the success of our marketing initiatives.
Information on registration on portals to manage the specific relationship, fulfil contractual obligations, address quality issues, manage business planning and development, help suppliers or other people who register on the portal to achieve their goals and manage incentive programmes. In certain limited cases, we also use Personal Data to facilitate invoicing, for product traceability or to comply with regulatory or contractual requirements.
Passwords and secret questions and answers so that you can register securely and to help you log in if you forget your password. Choose a unique password for each account, and do not use sensitive or financial information as a secret question (e.g. details of your bank account).
Footage from camera surveillance systems for a safe and secure environment for our employees, visitors, products and processes. Our Surveillance Camera Policy provides more information on our use of surveillance camera systems.
Information we collect on social media accounts To contact you through your social media accounts, to respond to your queries and to better deal with our customers.
Information on R&D and market research to market research perform, to improve our services and products, for R&D purposes and to study and understand the business and preferences of customers and operators.
Agricultural information to plan our demand and improve our products and services, to process and fulfil orders (including transport and distribution of goods), to pay invoices and to manage our relationships with farmers in general.
Visitor information to comply with building safety regulations, to identify those entering our sites and for food safety.
Photos and videos To communicate about our events, meetings, conferences, etc., on our websites, through our social media accounts, through press releases and other corporate communications and marketing materials. In certain cases, we may ask you to give us your e-mail address, to send you the photos and videos. We may collect your professional data, to contact you about our products and services. If you are a state official, we may collect and use data about your political opinions for corporate communications and other public matters.
CVs and relevant information for recruitment so that we can recruit the right people.
Purchase and purchase information to establish contractual terms with our suppliers, to pay for our suppliers' products or services, to carry out recalls and provide guarantees, to meet accounting obligations, to plan demand and generally to facilitate relations with our suppliers.
Information on the representatives of our B2B customers to manage our customer relationships and develop our business, to deliver our products and services online and offline, to better understand our customers' needs, to bill our products and services, for general business management and to comply with accounting obligations applicable to us.
Information on individual consumers of our products to provide, if and to the extent permitted by applicable law, individual customers of our products with marketing communications promoting our products and services (or those of third parties), to better understand the needs of our consumers, to handle complaints about our products, and generally to improve relationships with individual customers.
User-generated content that we get through our web presence to better deal with our customers or individual users of our products, to communicate with our customers and to handle complaints.
Information on creators to apply for or assign patents or similar registered intellectual property rights to McCain.
Information on identity to ensure that no unauthorised person can access, modify or delete your Personal Data.
Internal administrative purposes including for audits, data analysis, sustainable cost benefit, compliance, management & legal, corporate social responsibility, security, accounts payable and receivable, and database data.

Depending on the circumstances, we may also use your Personal Data for the following purposes:

for corporate communications and for public affairs (also, if necessary, to formulate a public response to specific complaints);
to respond to your comments and questions (troubleshooting);
To provide customer services (e.g. product recalls);
To engage in sales and market research (e.g. through surveys);
to engage in research and development (e.g. through correspondence on product concepts).
To register you when we organise events;
if and to the extent permitted by applicable law: for direct marketing purposes;
To improve business relations;
for public affairs;
to protect against and prevent: fraud, unauthorised transactions, claims and other disputes, and manage exposure to risk;
To deal with legal issues;
to carry out corporate transactions (including amalgamations, acquisitions and disposals); and
To improve our products and services in general.

We will not use Personal Data for purposes incompatible with what has been set out in this Policy unless you give us your voluntary and informed consent for specific purposes.

On what basis do we use your personal data?

We collect and use your Personal Data if:

this is for our legitimate benefit This is the case, for example, if we collect and use your Personal Data to:
○ improve the services and products we offer;
○ better understand our customers and their changing needs;
○ adapt our marketing activities to the needs and wants of our customers;
○ manage relationships with our suppliers and customers;

This is necessary to:
○ perform our contract with you (e.g. using info from logins on portals to fulfil contracts);
○ comply with regulatory requirements (e.g. if we need to use Personal Data to comply with food safety regulations); or

you have given your prior consent data to process your Personal Data. For example, in certain cases, we will seek your prior consent before using your electronic contact details (e.g. email address) to send you electronic communications, to promote our products and services.

If we collect your Personal Data while you visit or use any McCain website, apps or social media pages, you will be deemed to have read and consented to this Policy, if and to the extent that such tacit consent is valid under applicable law.

For example, we may, during the recruitment process, collect certain Personal Data if it is accessible through public sources (e.g. profiles on social media).

What happens if you do not give us your Personal Data, or if you request that we stop processing your Personal Data?

The quality of our services and products, and our ability to comply with our legal and contractual obligations sometimes depend on McCain having access to and being able to use certain Personal Data.

If you do not give us your Personal Data, or if you ask us to stop processing it, the quality of our services or products may be affected in certain cases, or we may be in breach of one or more legal or contractual obligations that we are required to comply with. Not allowing us to process your Personal Data may, in some cases, result in us no longer being able to offer you our products or services, or in us having to terminate our relationship with you.

To whom do we release Personal Data?

We do not sell or rent your Personal Data to third parties. We only share your Personal Data with third parties whose terms are at least as strict as those of this Policy, and only in the following ways:

Affiliates - We may share Personal Data with any affiliate or subsidiary, e.g. to provide customer service, administer our competitions, raffles and loyalty programmes, or improve our products and services. We may also share your Personal Data with affiliates or subsidiaries that provide shared services within McCain, e.g. in connection with buying and selling products, financial and accounting support, data management, customer billing, order processing, accounts payable processing, and preparing and reporting estimates and results. For more information, please contact our Privacy Officer at McCainPrivacy@mccain.com.
Service providers - We share Personal Data with third parties that provide services concerning, for example, our website, the management of our competitions, raffles and loyalty programmes, the provision of our customer service, our camera surveillance system, our market research and sales, our R&D activities or our public relations. These service providers only have access to the Personal Data they need to perform their functions. They work only on our behalf and under our direction, and may not use this data for any purpose other than to perform this function. For more information, please contact our Privacy Officer, at McCainPrivacy@mccain.com.
Customers - We may share Personal Data (e.g. if collected through portals for that purpose) with our customers for traceability and other regulatory and contractual requirements or to facilitate problem resolution.
Legal - We may disclose Personal Data to courts, law enforcement agencies and other governmental bodies if we believe it complies with or is required by applicable law, regulation or legal process. We may also disclose Personal Data to external legal advisers who assist us in preparing and defending legal claims, or who assist us with transactions (e.g. in assisting with amalgamations, acquisitions or disposals) or to third parties who are also involved in such legal matters (e.g. to opposing counsel in litigation, legal experts, other shareholders also involved in the claim, etc.).
Business transfers - In the event of a reorganisation, amalgamation or sale, we may transfer any Personal Data we collect to the relevant third party involved in the reorganisation, amalgamation or sale, with the consent of the data subjects if and to the extent required under applicable privacy laws.
With your permission - Subject to your prior consent, we may also share your Personal Data with other third parties.

How do we protect your Personal Data?

We have taken all reasonable administrative, technical and physical measures to protect your Personal Data from loss, theft, misuse and unauthorised access, leakage, alteration and destruction as required under applicable laws.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information over the internet is not completely secure. Despite the measures we have taken, we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to us over the internet. Once we have received your information, we will take all reasonable measures to protect it.

Where will your Personal Data be stored?

McCain operates around the world, and the company and its service providers may store and process your Personal Data in various jurisdictions, including outside your own.

McCain stores Personal Data at its offices in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada. It may also be stored at our local or regional offices.

McCain has guidelines and procedures to ensure that we comply with all applicable laws in the event of a security incident resulting in the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of or access to your Personal Data.

When we transfer Personal Data internationally, we will only do so in accordance with applicable laws. We will ensure an adequate level of protection of Personal Data, and appropriate security measures.

Personal data may be transferred from countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) to countries outside the EEA, such as Canada and the US. In such cases, we will ensure the following measures:

The laws of the country to which Personal Data is transferred ensure an adequate level of data protection, under Article 45.1 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679). For Canada, this decision can be found here; or
The transfer is subject to the EU-US Privacy Shield under Article 45.1 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679); or
The transfer is subject to data protection clauses by the European Commission under Article 46.2(d) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679). More information on these data protection clauses can be found here; or
Any other appropriate, applicable measure under Article 46 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679).

For more information regarding the measures regarding transfers of Personal Data outside the EEA, please contact our Privacy Officer, at McCainPrivacy@mccain.com.

Your rights

Subject to and subject to applicable law, you have certain rights regarding the Personal Data we hold about you. These rights may include the following:

The right to access the Personal Data we hold about you;
the right, under certain circumstances, to block or suppress further use of your Personal Data;
The right to correct the Personal Data we hold about you if that information is inaccurate or incomplete;
the right to oppose certain actions;
the right, under certain circumstances, to have your Personal Data deleted;
the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory data protection authority (for example, in Europe, in the EU member state of your usual residence) about the way we process your Personal Data;
if our processing of your Personal Data is specifically based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time;
in certain cases, you have the right to receive from us the Personal Data we hold about you in a structured, commonly used and computer-readable form so that you can use it for your own purposes and by various services.

You may exercise these rights by contacting our Privacy Officer at McCainPrivacy@mccain.com. However, please note that, if and to the extent permitted by applicable law, we may need to retain and continue to process certain information, for example for legal or administrative purposes (e.g. maintaining accounting records).

For all requests described above, please send us an e-mail with "data privacy request" in the subject line, including a copy of your identity card or other proof of identity (e.g. driving licence) so that no other persons can view, change or delete this Personal Data.

We will reply to your query as soon as possible, and always within the deadlines set by law.

Your right to refuse to have your data used for direct marketing purposes

You always have the right, free of charge, to refuse to have your data used for direct marketing purposes (including such profiling that can be linked to direct marketing).
You can exercise this right by contacting our Privacy Officer, at McCainPrivacy@mccain.com or by other electronic means, such as a link to unsubscribe from emails.

Children

Important message for children
First, ask your parents if they are OK with you giving your name, postal address, e-mail address or other information to anyone on the internet.

Important message for parents
Although certain parts of the website appear to be aimed at children under 13, children under that age may only enter competitions or raffles and share Personal Data with us with the consent of a parent or legal guardian. If your child communicates with us via e-mail to enter competitions or promotions, or to receive newsletters, we will ask him/her to provide only the e-mail address of his/her parent or legal guardian. A child who does not have legal consent under applicable local laws to consent to the processing of his/her Personal Data must seek the consent of a parent or legal guardian before sharing such Personal Data with us. If we discover or have reason to believe that a child's Personal Data was collected in a manner inconsistent with this Policy, we will immediately seek to verify whether a parent or the child's legal guardian has given consent to do so. If not, we will delete the Personal Data.

Cookies and other technologies

We use cookies and other similar technologies when you visit our websites. More information about cookies and other similar technologies we use when you visit our websites can be found in the information notice about cookies on the relevant McCain website, or in the Global Cookie Policy.

External links

This Policy does not apply to the collection, processing and use of Personal Data by companies we do not own or control, or people we do not employ or direct ("External Parties"). Although some of our websites may link to External Parties' websites and services, for example those of our business partners and social media companies, we do not control the activities of these External Parties. For more information on what Personal Data these External Parties collect and how they use it, please refer to their privacy policies.

How long do we keep Personal Data?

McCain has internal storage guidelines and procedures based on the following criteria to determine the storage periods of Personal Data in the context of the purposes listed above:

elapsed time since your last interaction with a McCain website;
the end of a contractual relationship with a farmer, a supplier or a third-party provider of products or services;
the end of a product recall period or product or service warranty;
sensitivity of the Personal Data;
security reasons;
the applicable limitation periods:
ongoing or potential complaints or disputes;
a regulatory or legal obligation to store the Personal Data (e.g. for accounting purposes or in the context of a camera surveillance system).

Policy revisions

This Policy may be updated from time to time. Changes to this Policy are not necessarily preceded by a notice on the website, and we therefore encourage you to check the Policy from time to time for changes. Your continued use of the McCain website following changes to the Policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

Conflicts or inconsistencies between policy provisions

If there is any conflict or inconsistency between any provision of this Policy and any provision of another McCain Policy referenced in this Policy, this Policy shall prevail.