Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated April 30, 2019


Your privacy is important to us. To protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

What is Personal Data?

Personal Data (also referred to in this policy as Personal Information) means any information relating to a natural person who can be identified by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification/account number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that person.

Personal Information We Collect


When you visit ASN Websites, there are five types of information you might provide to us: contact information you knowingly choose to disclose; registration information when registering for an event, billing information when you donate, join, subscribe, or make a purchase; demographic or other information about you; and technical information collected by us as you interact with our websites.

Contact Information

In some areas of ASN Websites, we request that you provide personal information, such as your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number.

Donor and Purchaser Information

In some areas of ASN Websites, we request that you provide your credit card number, contact information, and other billing information.

Registration Information


In some areas of ASN Websites, we request that you provide personal information, such as your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number.

Demographic Information

In some areas of ASN Websites, we collect demographic information such as your age, career, preferences, gender, educational degrees, ethnic background, and interests. Sometimes, we may collect a combination of information types. Examples of areas of the ASN Websites where we may collect personal or combined personal and demographic data are pages where you can donate, sign up to be a member, register for a program or event, comment on an article, participate in a survey, subscribe to a product, or make a purchase..

Technical Information

We also may gather certain information about your use of our site, such as what areas you visit and what services you access. Moreover, there is information about your computer hardware and software that we may collect. This information can include, without limitation, your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times, and referring website addresses. Some of this information is collected through the use of cookies (described below).

Use of Personal Information

The information collected may be used by ASN for the purpose of providing you with the content you request, operating and improving ASN Websites, providing a positive user experience, and delivering the products and services that we offer.

We may also use the information we gather to inform you of other products or services available from ASN or to contact you about your opinion of current products and services or potential new products and services that may be offered.

We may use your contact information in order to send you e-mail, postal mail, or other communications regarding updates at ASN, such as newsletters, nutrition information, event and programmatic information, and additional listings which may be of interest to you. We may also use it to send you information about third-party products and services that match your interests and preferences. The nature and frequency of these messages will vary depending upon the information we have about you. In addition, at the time of registration for certain services, you have the option to elect to receive additional communications, information, newsletters, and promotions relating to topics that may be of special interest to you.

Our mission is to improve health around the world through high quality science-based nutrition knowledge, and one way we do that is by providing appropriate information. We do not provide your name and address or email to outside parties, except as described here. To learn more about our encryption policies, please review the section on “Protecting Personal Information” (below).

For EU-based visitors and subscribers, the following table provides information required by the GDPR relating to our use of your personal information.

Personal Information Legal Basis for Processing  
Contact information, including name, date of birth, address, e-mail address, and telephone number. For the legitimate interests of ASN; consent to provide you with the content you request; and/or as necessary for the performance of a contract.
Purchaser information, including credit card number, contact information, and billing information. Necessary to provide you with the content you request.
Demographic information, including age, preferences, gender, educational degrees, ethnic background, interests, and diabetes specific information. Legitimate purpose of providing tailored content to you.
Technical information, including your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times, and referring website addresses. Legitimate purpose of authenticating subscribers and optimizing website performance.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain indefinitely all the personal information we gather about visitors or subscribers as necessary to fulfill our contract with you and to serve the legitimate interests of ASN. We retain indefinitely certain anonymized information we gather about visitors or subscribers for the legitimate purpose of performing website analytics and providing use of our website to all visitors in an efficient, practical, and relevant way.

Sharing of Personal Data

We do not share or disclose your personal information to third parties except as set forth below:

Personal Information Purpose for Sharing
Technical Information With ASN business partners for the legitimate purpose of understanding usage patterns for ASN Websites and those of our partners.
Technical Information With web hosting and other technical service providers for the legitimate purpose of hosting our web servers and ensuring information security for our networks.
Contact Information With consultants and vendors for the legitimate purpose of providing customer support and marketing assistance.
Contact Information With credit card processors for purposes of processing credit card transactions in connection with the donors and subscriber’s contract with ASN websites.
Contact Information With our business partners, for the purposes of providing you with products or services tailored to your interests and preferences.

In addition, we disclose personal information if legally required to do so, if requested to do so by a governmental entity, or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of ASN; (c) prevent a crime or protect national security; or (d) protect the personal safety of users or the public.

In the event any one or all of the ASN Websites become the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding, whether voluntary or involuntary, the ASN or its trustee in bankruptcy may sell, license, or otherwise dispose of such information in a transaction approved by the bankruptcy court as is legally required.

In the event the ASN business is acquired in whole or part by a third party by way of merger, consolidation, or purchase, we will disclose and transfer such information to the third party.

ASN may also share aggregated anonymous information about visitors to ASN Websites with its clients, partners, and other third parties so that they may understand the kinds of visitors to ASNWebsites and how those visitors use the site.

Your Rights under the GDPR with regard to your Personal Data

Under the GDPR, EU-based visitors and subscribers have the rights to request from us access to Personal Data we store about you, to amend (or rectify) this data, to restrict our processing of the Personal Data, to erase the data, and to receive a copy of the data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format (data portability). If you wish to invoke a right under the GDPR, you may contact us at info@nutrition.org. Please use the subject line “GDPR Request” in the subject line. Your e-mail should include a sufficiently detailed description of the GDPR right with which you seek assistance along with appropriate contact information. We may need to contact you for further information. ASN will notify you if your request has been granted or declined, or if exemptions apply.

If you have provided consent for the processing and storing of your data, you have the right (in certain circumstances) to withdraw that consent at any time, which will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent was withdrawn.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of the GDPR with regard to your Personal Data.

Information You Post

If you post any personal information in public and/or social network areas of the ASN Websites, e.g., in online community forums or chat rooms, the information disclosed may be displayed to other users of these services and may be collected and used by others over whom we have no control. ASN is not responsible for the use made by third parties of information you post or otherwise make available in public areas of the ASN Websites and communities. If you remove information that you have made public on ASN Websites and communities, copies may remain viewable in cached and archived pages of the ASN Websites or if others have copied or saved that information.

E-mail

E-mail to Donors and Participants: Donors to ASN and ASN Foundation and Participants of ASN events and programs may opt out of all e-mail communication, except transactional emails, such as donation receipts, and event/program specific information registered, by clicking the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email.

E-mail to Journal Subscribers: ASN journal subscriptions are managed by ASN’s publisher, Oxford University Press (OUP). To learn more about how OUP manages subscriber information, please visit their Privacy Policy here: https://global.oup.com/privacy?cc=gb.

E-mail to Members: ASN members may opt out of all e-mail communication, except transactional emails, such as member renewals, by clicking the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any ASN email.

E-mail to Users who have submitted a Request for Information: Individuals who have requested specific information from the ASN such as, but not limited to, e-newsletters, educational information, advocacy information, etc. are agreeing that ASN may contact them by e-mail. Users who fall under the CASL and GDPR regulations may opt in to or opt out of e-mails from ASN.

  • Users who do not wish to receive e-mail may follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of any e-mail message from ASN.

The above options and are not intended to describe every option on the ASN websites.

Links to Other Sites

The ASN Websites may provide links to other websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that ASN has no control over such sites and resources and is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any materials, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources or those sites’ data collection or privacy policies. You further acknowledge and agree that ASN shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such materials or goods available on or through any such site or resource or those sites data collection or privacy policies.

Monitoring of Information and Cookies

We monitor customer traffic patterns and site usage to help us develop the design and layout of the ASN Websites. We may also use the information we collect to occasionally notify you about important changes to the websites, new services or features offered by ASN, and special offers and information we think you will find valuable. If you would rather not receive this information, please contact us at info@nutrition.org.

Google Analytics is used to analyze traffic to this website. Google Analytics does not maintain individual profiles for visitors, nor does Google Analytics collect data that might identify the individual visitor. Google Analytics only collects aggregate data. Click here for more information about the Google Analytics privacy policy.

We collect standard information, by way of a cookie, to help us evaluate how our sites are being used. A cookie is a small uniquely identifiable text file that is stored on your machine. A cookie collects information that is used for statistical purposes and does not identify you in any way.

Our sites use cookies to keep track of your activity and to make sure you don’t see the same content repeatedly. We use cookies to deliver information specific to your interests and to save your password so you don’t have to re-enter it each time you visit our site.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can change your browser settings to prevent that. Even without accepting cookies, you can still use most of the features throughout the ASN Websites.

Often times, we may use certain advertising networks and exchanges that participate in the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI). NAI has developed a tool that allows consumers to opt out of certain interest-based advertising delivered by NAI members’ ad networks. To learn more about opting out of such targeted advertising or to use the NAI tool, click here. Please be aware that such opt-outs do not affect non-targeted ads. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of, or compliance with, any third-parties’ opt-out mechanisms or programs, or the accuracy of their statements regarding their programs.

Protecting Personal Information

We are concerned with protecting your privacy and data. When you make a donation, register for an event or program, place orders, access your account information or request information, we use a secure server. This secure server software, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. Furthermore, all customer transactional data we collect is protected against unauthorized access with the use of digital certificates. Digital certificates for the ASN are issued by RapidSSL.

We provide reasonable technical, administrative, and physical controls to help secure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal information. No security system is impenetrable, however, and we cannot guarantee the security of our website or databases. If you have any questions about security on the ASN Websites, you may contact us at info@nutrition.org.

Payment Processing

All credit transactions occur in a secure area of our site or partner sites to protect you from any loss, misuse, or alteration of information collected. When you make a donation, pay member dues, or place an order online at any of the ASN Websites, your credit card information is protected through the use of encryption of web content using Transport Layer Security.

Our Commitment to Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. We adhere to the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s COPPA site.

How to Correct or Update Information

Here are the options for changing and modifying information previously provided.

Email info@nutrition.org or send a letter to:

American Society for Nutrition
9211 Corporate Blvd., Suite 300
Rockville, MD 20850
ATTN: Customer Service Center

Where to address your questions or complaints

If you have any concerns as to how your data is processed, you can contact:

American Society for Nutrition
9211 Corporate Blvd., Suite 300
Rockville, MD 20850
ATTN: Customer Service Center

E-mail: info@nutrition.org

Changes to Privacy Statement

If we change our Privacy Statement for the ASN Websites, we will post those changes here so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information, and to whom we will disclose it. We welcome your comments concerning this Privacy Statement. Members who believe that we have not adhered to this statement may contact us by e-mailing us at mem@nutrition.org. Non-members may contact us at info@nutrition.org. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem. Thank you for using the ASN Websites.

Legal Requests

ASN reserves the right to share your information to respond to duly authorized information requests of governmental authorities or where required by law.

Acceptance of These Terms

Your use of the ASN Websites shall indicate your understanding and acceptance of the terms of this Privacy Statement. If you do not agree with all the terms herein, you should not use the ASN Websites or services.

Questions or Comments?

The American Society for Nutrition welcomes your questions and comments about this privacy statement, about the practices of ASN, and about your dealings with this website. Please send email to info@nutrition.org, or write to:

American Society for Nutrition
9211 Corporate Blvd., Suite 300
Rockville, MD 20850.