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Privacy notice for food and feed importers

Information on our food and feed importer's privacy policy, why we require data, what we do with the data and your rights.

The Food Standards Agency is what is known as the ‘Controller’ of the personal data provided to us.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

We need to collect this personal data for the purpose(s) of assisting Competent Authorities and other Government Agencies to mitigate risks associated with the importation of food or feed, fulfilling their obligations for conducting official controls under Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, and as retained in UK legislation.

We do this in line with the performance of our official duties in the exercise of the official authority vested in us and in the public interest to protect public health in relation to imported food and feed. We will not collect any personal data from you which we do not need.

What we need and how we use it

The personal data we hold consists of business name, registered business address and data relating to the import of food and feed by the business.

The Food Standards Agency obtains this information from the Trade Control Expert System (TRACES) or Competent Authorities or other Government Agencies dealing with the importation of food or feed. In order to carry out our legal powers to ensure food safety we may process your personal data obtained from publicly available sources such as websites and make use of web scraping software.

We may analyse this data along with other information we hold about you and information we have obtained from public and/or private sources for the purpose of helping us evaluate risk. We do this in line with the exercise of official authority vested in us under the Food Standards Act and the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

How and where we store your data and who we may share it with 

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to carry out these functions, and in line with our retention policies.

No third parties have access to your personal data unless the law allows them to do so. In line with this commitment your data may be passed to Competent Authorities or other Government Agencies that are involved in protecting risks associated with the importation of food or feed.

In addition, the Food Standards Agency will sometimes share data with other government departments, public bodies, and organisations which perform public functions to assist them in the performance of their statutory duties or when it is in the public interest. We may also share the data as part of risk evaluation and analysis with public bodies, Competent Authorities, other organisations, such as Trading Standards and Port Health Authorities, for the same reasons.

For more information, please see the How and where we store your data and who we may share it with section in our Personal Information Charter. 

International transfers 

For more information on international transfers, please see the International transfers section in our Personal Information Charter. 

EU citizens 

For more information on EU Citizens Privacy Notice, please see the EU citizens section in our Personal Information Charter. 

Your rights 

For more information on your rights, please see the Your rights section in our Personal Information Charter. 

Contact us 

If you have any queries concerning this Privacy Notice, your personal information or any questions on our use of the information, please email our Data Protection Officer in the FSA, who is the Information Management and Security Team Leader using the address below.