World Food Travel Association · Taste of Place
Effective date: January 1, 2025 · Last updated: June 2025
The World Food Travel Association ("WFTA", "we", "our", or "us") operates the Taste of Place initiative and its website at jointasteofplace.org (the "Site"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect the personal information you provide when you visit our Site or become a member of the Taste of Place movement.
We take your privacy seriously. We collect only what we need, we protect it carefully, and we never sell it.
1. Who We Are
The World Food Travel Association is a US-based non-profit organization and the world's leading authority on food and beverage tourism. Taste of Place is a global initiative powered by WFTA to protect and celebrate culinary heritage worldwide.
For privacy-related questions, contact us at: privacy@worldfoodtravel.org
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information you provide directly
When you sign the Taste of Place Declaration, create a member account, or communicate with us, we may collect:
- Name and surname
- Email address
- Country of residence
- Professional role or sector (optional)
- Payment information, if you choose a Supporting Membership (processed securely by our payment provider; we do not store card details)
- Any messages or correspondence you send us
2.2 Information collected automatically
When you visit our Site, we may collect technical data including:
- IP address and approximate geographic location
- Browser type and operating system
- Pages visited and time spent on the Site
- Referring URLs
- Device identifiers
This data is collected via cookies and similar technologies. See our Cookies Policy for details.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Process your Declaration signature and create your member account
- Send you confirmation emails and membership communications
- Publish your name in the public Declaration Signatories directory (with your consent)
- Process Supporting Membership payments
- Send newsletters and movement updates (you may unsubscribe at any time)
- Improve our Site and understand how visitors engage with our content
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling.
4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, our legal basis for collecting and using your personal information depends on the data in question and the context in which we collect it:
- Contract performance — to create and manage your membership account.
- Legitimate interests — to operate and improve the Site, prevent fraud, and communicate about the movement.
- Consent — for newsletter subscriptions and non-essential cookies.
- Legal obligation — to comply with applicable laws.
5. Sharing Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share it with:
- Outseta — our membership management and authentication platform, which processes member data on our behalf.
- Payment processors — to handle Supporting Membership transactions securely.
- Analytics providers — to understand Site usage (data is anonymized or pseudonymized where possible).
- Legal authorities — if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of WFTA and its members.
All third-party service providers are contractually required to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.
6. International Data Transfers
WFTA is based in the United States. If you are accessing our Site from the EEA, UK, or other regions with data protection laws, your information may be transferred to and processed in the US. We take steps to ensure your data receives an adequate level of protection, including through Standard Contractual Clauses where required.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your membership is active or as needed to provide our services. You may request deletion of your account at any time (see Section 8). We may retain certain information for legal or operational purposes after your account is closed.
Anonymous or aggregated data (which cannot identify you) may be retained indefinitely.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Delete your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
- Restrict or object to certain processing activities
- Data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent
- Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@worldfoodtravel.org. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, loss, or alteration. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, and regular security reviews. No transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Children's Privacy
Our Site and services are not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.
11. Links to Third-Party Sites
Our Site may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies independently.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If changes are material, we will notify members by email. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
13. Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact:
World Food Travel AssociationEmail: privacy@worldfoodtravel.orgWebsite: worldfoodtravel.org
