Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. - Privacy Policy

FORBES MEDI-TECH INC.

Personal Information Protection Policy
Our Privacy Commitment

Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information obtained by reason of your relationship with Forbes. This policy explains the types of personal information we collect, how it is used, and the steps we take to ensure that the privacy of your personal information is appropriately protected.

Our policies and practices have been designed to comply with current Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and corresponding provincial privacy acts.

This policy applies to the protection of private information from employees, shareholders, researchers, patients, customers, healthcare professionals and others.

Who is Forbes?

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, "Forbes" means Forbes Medi-Tech Inc., Forbes Medi-Tech Research, Forbes Medi-Tech USA and its Joint Ventures.

Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. is a life sciences company focused on evidence-based nutritional solutions. A leader in nutraceutical technology, Forbes is a provider of value-added products and cholesterol-lowering ingredients for use in functional foods and dietary supplements. Forbes successfully developed and commercialized its Reducol(TM) plant sterol blend, which has undergone clinical trials in various matrices and has been shown to lower "LDL" cholesterol levels safely and naturally. Building upon established partnerships with leading retailers and manufacturers across the globe, Forbes helps its customers to develop private label and branded products.

What is Personal Information?

Personal information is information that refers to an individual specifically and includes information recorded in any form. Personal information includes but is not limited to such things as age, income, date of birth, ethnic origin, unique identification numbers, medical and financial data.

Employee personal information is information that is collected, used or disclosed solely for the purposes reasonably required to establish, maintain, manage or terminate an employment relationship between an employee (including a volunteer) and an organization. This may include information such as name, home address, educational history and employment history. This does not include contact information or work product information (see below).

Contact information means information that allows an individual to be contacted at work. It includes the name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business e-mail and business fax number for the individual.

Work product information is information that is prepared or collected by an employee as part of that individual's work responsibilities, but does not include information about an individual who did not prepare or collect the information.

What Personal Information does Forbes Collect and How is it Used?

Forbes collects two types of information: personal information and non-personal information. We will identify the purpose for which your personal information is collected, either before or at the time that we collect your personal information. You can always choose not to provide us with any of your personal information. However, if you make this choice we may not be able to provide you with the product, service, or information that you requested.

Listed here are some examples of the purposes for which we may collect, use or disclose your personal information:

For employees, we collect information such as employment and education history, medical/spousal/dependant information for benefit plans, social insurance numbers for government filings, photo ID for legal and filing purposes, banking information for payroll or any financial transactions, activity logs, performance evaluations and attendance reports.

For shareholders, Directors & Officers, certain employees, consultants and other individuals as required, certain information is collected and disclosed in compliance with the information requirements of various securities laws.

For researchers and peer reviewers, information will include professional qualifications, employment and education and information required by government funders and regulators.

Our Web Sites

Information Forbes Collects Automatically

Like many other Web Sites, we automatically collect certain non-personal information regarding Web Site users that does not identify you. Examples include the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer, the IP address of your Internet Service Provider, the date and time you access the Web Site, the Internet address of the Web Site from which you linked directly to the Web Site, the operating system you are using, the sections of the Web Site you visit, the Web Site pages read and images viewed, and the content you download from the Web Site. This non-personal information is used for Web Site and system administration purposes and to improve the Web Site.

Cookies

The Web Site uses "cookies", a technology that installs a small amount of information on a Web Site user's computer to permit the Web Site to recognize future visits using that computer. Cookies enhance the convenience and use of the Web Site. For example, the information provided through cookies may be used to recognize you as a previous user of the Web Site, to offer personalized Web page content and information for your use, to track your activity at the Web Site, to respond to your needs, and to otherwise facilitate your Web Site experience.

Links to Other Web Sites

Our Web Site may contain links to other Web Sites or Internet resources. When you click on one of those links you are contacting another Web Site or Internet resource. Forbes has no responsibility or liability for or control over those other Web Sites or Internet resources or their collection, use and disclosure of your personal information. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of those other sites to learn how they collect and use information about you.

How does Forbes Obtain Consent to Collect, Use and/or Disclose My Personal Information?

Generally, Forbes obtains your consent to collect, use or disclose personal information. The method of obtaining consent is appropriate to the type and sensitivity of personal information being collected, used or disclosed. Your consent can be given orally, in writing or electronically. In appropriate circumstances, we collect information indirectly from third party sources such as medical institutions, physicians and investment counselors.

In some cases, your consent is implied if we ask you to provide personal information with a stated purpose. For example, if you are submitting a resume or information request form, you will be given the opportunity, before you submit the information, to choose not to have your information used for email updates on the Company's endeavors. If you have not "opted out" by directing us to withhold your information from information submission forms, you can always contact the company at a later date to withdraw your consent.

In other cases, we will ask you to give your express consent to collect, use or disclose your personal information where such information would be considered sensitive. For example, we would obtain your express consent to disclose your personal information in the event we require a "background check" before hiring you.

You can change your consent preferences at any time by contacting Forbes Head Office, where you will be directed to the Privacy Officer. To change your preferences, please refer to the "How Do I Contact Forbes?" section below.

Does Forbes Limit the Collection of My Personal Information?

Forbes typically collects only the personal information required to provide our products and services to you. If the personal information we require is collected for a reason other than to provide products and services, we will advise you of the reason and obtain your consent before it is used. Forbes will only collect personal information by fair and lawful means.

The following are some examples of why we collect your personal information;

To process any information requests and investor relations package delivery;
To process any resumes submitted for any existing or potential positions within Forbes;
To add the subscriber's email address to the Company's database for information dissemination including but not limited to news releases or corporate updates;
To measure and improve the effectiveness of our Web Sites or our marketing endeavors;
To comply with the law; and
To determine qualifications for employment, research boards, or clinical trials.

We may also collect and summarize subscriber information in a format that no longer identifies the individual for statistical purposes.

Does Forbes Limit the Use, Disclosure and Retention of My Personal Information?

Except as permitted or required by law, Forbes uses and discloses your personal information only for the purposes it was collected. Forbes does not sell or rent personal information to any organization or person for any reason; provided, however, if Forbes or a substantial part of our business is sold or otherwise transferred to a third party, your personal information may be transferred as well. In addition to the above, we may also share your information with third parties acting on our behalf. We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that your personal information is used in a manner that is consistent with this Policy.

Forbes may disclose or collect your information as permitted or required to by law, for example;

To a government institution or other person or entity that has asserted its lawful authority to obtain the information;
Where we have reasonable grounds to believe the information could be useful in the investigation of unlawful activity;
To comply with a subpoena or warrant or an order made by a court, person or entity with jurisdiction to compel the production of information;
To comply with court rules regarding the production of records and information;
To our legal counsel;
In the establishment, administration or termination of an employment relationship;
To meet ethical requirements or obligations imposed by self-regulatory bodies, physicians, hospitals or other health care institutions;
If the information is publicly available;
In connection with the financing, insuring, sale, assignment or licensing of Forbes' business or a division thereof, in accordance with requirements imposed by law;
To assist in or coordinate product recalls;
To conduct surveys and questionnaires; and
To monitor compliance with research protocols and conditions imposed on clinical trials.

Forbes retains your personal information as it is required for our business relationship or as required by federal or provincial laws, subject to reasonable industry practices for records retention.

Does Forbes Keep My Personal Information Up To Date and Accurate?

Forbes makes reasonable efforts to keep your personal information up to date, accurate and relevant for its intended use however we rely on you to update us with your information as it changes.

You may request access to the personal information we have on record in order to review and amend the information, as appropriate. To access your personal information, please refer to the "How Do I Contact Forbes?" section below.

How does Forbes Protect My Personal Information?

The security of your personal information is priority important to Forbes. We maintain appropriate safeguards and security measures to protect your personal information, whether recorded on paper or captured electronically, against unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse, including:

Physical security measures such as restricted access facilities and locking filing cabinets;
Electronic security measures for computerized personal information such as password protection and encryption where appropriate; and
Organizational processes such as limiting access to personal information to a selected group of individuals.

Although we cannot take responsibility for any theft, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, loss, alteration or destruction of data by a third party, we take reasonable precautions to prevent such occurrences.

Is Forbes Open About its Privacy Policy?

Forbes is committed to providing you with understandable and easily available information about our privacy policy and practices related to the management of your personal information. This policy and any related information is available at all times on our website, www.forbesmedi.com, under "Privacy Policy" or upon request. To contact us, please refer to the "How Can I Contact Forbes" section below.

Does Forbes Provide Access to My Personal Information?

You can request access to your personal information that is under Forbes control to verify, update, or correct it, and to have any obsolete personal information removed. You can also request to review any of your personal information. All requests to access your personal information must be made in writing to the Company's Privacy Officer. The Company reserves the right to charge a fee to you for the administrative costs of retrieving your personal information and managing any requests under this policy.

Subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law, and provided we can authenticate your identity, you will be given reasonable access to your personal information, and will be entitled to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and to have it amended as appropriate.

You can also ask us to change your preferences regarding how we use or disclose your information, or let us know that you do not wish to receive any further communication from us.

We will respond to your requests for access to, changes to, or removal of your personal information in a timely manner. To access your personal information, please refer to the "How Can I Contact Forbes" section below.

Forbes will respond in a timely manner to your questions, concerns and complaints about the privacy of your personal information and our privacy policy and practices.

Forbes has developed an internal privacy complaints procedure, and will be happy to provide further information and materials upon request.

How Can I Contact Forbes?
Send us an email at: hrinfo@forbesmedi.com
Attention: Privacy Officer

Call us at: 604-689-5899

Write us at:

Forbes Medi-Tech Inc.
Attention: Privacy Officer
Suite 200
750 West Pender St.
Vancouver, BC Canada
V6C 2T8

Will this Privacy Policy Change?

To accommodate changes in our service, the technology, and legal developments, this Policy may change over time. We may add, change, or remove portions of this Policy when we feel it is appropriate and such changes become effective upon posting.

This Policy was last updated on May 7, 2009.

This website page was updated on May 12, 2009.