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A blogger friend expressed concern to me about FTC regulations, so I read FTC regs 16 CFR 255 and the FTC’s explanatory notes about that part. And, since I did that, I might as well share some of my own rules thumb with you. Please scroll to the bottom for my disclaimer. And if you don’t read that, keep in mind that this is not legal advice. Shit, it might not even be reliable at all.

Here are some good rules of thumb when you are writing about products/companies:

Tell the Truth. Be Candid. Understand that the FTC’s goal seems to be to prevent consumers from getting tricked and that they evaluate every case on a case-by-case benefit. If you are being completely honest, then you probably don’t need to worry about the FTC getting mad at you.

Don’t exaggerate. Don’t make stuff up. If you tell the truth, then you aren’t tricking anyone and the FTC therefore probably doesn’t care what you say. Don’t make up health benefits, for example. If you don’t know from an authoritative source that product x cures condition y, then don’t say it.

For Marx Foods Products: We want you to be completely honest about our products’ benefits and whether you like or dislike them. Part of the reason that we send samples is to get your honest opinion. So, please be candid. If you love our products, please say that. And, if you don’t, please understand that we are big boys and girls. We can take negative feedback.

Provide Full Disclosure about your relationship with the company. If you provide full disclosure about your relationship with the products/company, then your readers will be able to weigh your opinion properly. Full disclosure doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to have a big bad legal volume at the end of your post, the FTC wants to make sure that you “clearly and conspicuously disclose that (you) received the (product) free of charge”.

For Marx Foods Products: So, If you are writing about free samples that you received from us, then instead of saying: “I got these mushrooms from Marx Foods”, say “I got these mushrooms from Marx Foods for free”. Now your readers know.

Your writing might not fall under the authority of the FTC … It depends on the relationship that you have with the company. Imagine a continuum between a) you bought the product at full price and b) you got paid to

write the review. If a company paid you to write a review, then you should disclose that. If you bought the goods at full price, then you probably don’t need to disclose anything so long as you are being candid. In between those two ends is a gray area. If you often review products, if the product has a high value, or if you are a prominent blogger with a large readership, you will be closer to (b). If you are anywhere close to (b), then you should disclose the nature of your relationship with the company. And, if you aren’t anywhere close to (b), you might as well disclose the relationship even if the FTC doesn’t care.

For Marx Foods Products: We don’t pay for reviews. We just provide free samples. So, like I said above … just mention in your post that you got the goods for free.

It kinda also depends on the value of the free stuff. The FTC was clear that just because the samples were inexpensive doesn’t mean that the regulations don’t apply. From a pragmatic perspective though, I would guess that the FTC is going to be much more concerned if you are recommending a $2,000 laptop that you got for free than if you are recommending a laptop case. It’s not that the FTC cares about what you got for free … they care about whether your readers get tricked into purchasing a product that doesn’t match your description. And, they probably care a lot more if it is an expensive item. Imagine that your reader purchases the product and it turns out that you were really exaggerating the benefits. Your reader will be much more harmed if that product was a $20,000 car, than if the product was a $2 car air freshener.

For Marx Foods Products: While it is more important for you to disclose that you got the Fresh Alba Truffles for free than it is to disclose free dried shitake mushrooms, play it safe. Disclose everything.

In general, think about what your readers would ordinarily expect. If they are expecting you to be unbiased and would be surprised to learn that you are being paid or that you got free stuff, then the FTC wants you to be very clear about that to your readers. It is all about their expectations.

Disclaimer: As you may know, I went to law school, but that does not mean that this post should represent legal advice. While I know how to read regulations: 1) I read only one tiny little section (16 CFR 255); 2) I do not and have not ever practiced law; 3) I did not ever study media law, so there were several terms in the regulations that I don’t understand and I was reading out of context; 4) I read the section only in the context of the free samples that we hook bloggers up with; and 5) this stuff is really complex and over my head.

We’re looking for four bloggers to create two original recipes each using black garlic, an intriguing and increasingly popular ingredient that we have little experience with.

A $100 store credit is the booty for the author of our favorite pair of recipes. That’s right, a pair. We’ll send two bulbs of black garlic for you to make one hot dish and one cold/room temp dish. Post your recipes by December 3rd.

If you want in, send me an email (justin at marxfoods dot com) by Nov. 17th … I’ll pick four bloggers and send the black garlic overnight on the 18th. The

author of our favorite pair of recipes gets the $100 MarxFoods.com Store Credit and the chance to enter the Ridiculously Delicious Challenge.

The webstore has definitely been growing at a respectful pace since we launched it a few years ago. But, I am ready to move out of the “respectful” chapter.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE to create BIG growth … 100-FOLD growth?

I am searching for this answer. Working my ass off to find it. I figure that whatever year it is that we hit it … it will happen in a December. So, I am putting everything I have got into this.

It is a damn good thing that I

am having fun!

PS: New York Times … Will you pay some fucking attention to us? Grrrrrr.

Our market research pretty much consists of me giving people stuff to eat (I have very fortunate neighbors). I glean insights nonetheless, they just aren’t statistically significant. We had a whole bunch of samples left over from shooting our molded ice creams for the store. So, I figured that I would take them to my neighbor’s place where three cool, voracious ice cream consumers live. Actually 5. That’s Joe & Blake, sampling the ice creams.

They did teach me that kids are more interested in the fog created by dry ice than they are of the ice cream. Put the dry ice in hot water and you get this:

I don’t know why i hand’t put ittogether previously, but molded ice creams are an adult food. They are expensive, interesting only to adults for some reason, and the quality of the ice cream is actually really high.

PS. Speaking of market research: What do you think of when you hear “molded ice creams”? Do you think of that fuzzy stuff that grows in damp dark places? Should we call it something else?

Lots of review opportunities going on over on the main blog this week … Here’s a quick round-up.

4 Varieties of Risotto Rice. Compare/contrast and explore the nuances

Fresh Ghost Chilies. Finally, a lot of people have been waiting for the world’s hottest chile to be available in fresh form.

Fresh Wasabi Rhizome. See bottom

of the fresh ghost chile post.

Photo Challenge: Salt. Pretty self explanatory.

Throw your hat in the ring.

We are in the habit of publishing about 150 recipes a year on our recipe blog, all developed by our Executive Chef, all worthy of plunking down good money in a restaurant.  So, I’m thinking that it might be worthwhile publishing a quarterly ‘ Best Of ‘.  Below is the best of July – September, 2010.  Let me know in the comments if you think this is a worthwhile exercise or if it is just narcissistic, given the abundance of fabulous recipes in the blogosphere.

How to Quick Pickle – easy technique, extremely adaptable, add zing to any dish.

How to Render Duck Fat – You end up with crispy duck skin and rich duck fat for your potatoes…what’s not to love?

Roasted Chanterelle Mushrooms Recipe – really showed off what chanterelles can do.

Guest Post: Classic Italian Beef Recipes – 16th century beef recipes…how cool is that?

Wild Boar Meatballs – because wild boar and meatballs were made for each other.

Potato Porcini Gratin Recipe – was tasty

Risotto Stuffed Squash Blossoms Recipe – folks in the office seemed to really enjoy this & Ryan took incredibly beautiful photos.

How to Brine Meat & Poultry –  a simple and amazing technique, especially for poultry.

Island Style Lobster Tails Recipe –  Simple is best.

Chanterelle & Farro Salad Recipe – lots of great colors, flavors, textures and nutrients.

My buddy Ben reports that Canlis is going to feed 50 couples at 1950s prices … so long as you are one of the lucky few that finds one of their 50 1950s menus scattered somewhere in the city.  Scavenger hunt!  A brilliant promotional idea … and probably the best dining value in town this quarter.    Especially since I hear that their food is actually good again …   Get the full story here.

A customer awaiting a delivery asked us: “Is the change in weight due to more feet, or to larger feet. I assume there are simply more, which is just fine by me.”

To which we naturally replied: “Yep, the change in weight is due to more feet in the case rather than larger feet.” 😉

Our customer is getting twice as many feet as he ordered.

If you can guess what type of feet our customer is talking about and what he plans to do with it … well, then, you are sick. No, just kidding. That makes you REALLY gifted in the kitchen. And, it will also make you the recipient of a delicious prize from me (don’t worry, I won’t send you any feet…large or small). Leave your guess in the comments below.

A box of samples inspire a Homer Simpson moment. Mmmmmmm…

We get lots of samples, sometimes so many that we have to really put in the effort to properly taste test everything. I can just hear you all oozing sympathy for us. Rare is the sample shipment that still excites my jaded crew. Nothing like truffle products to perk us up.

This morning, we got a box of truffle products and fresh truffles from a new potential vendor. Since I don’t want to leave anyone out, we’ll wait until Katy gets back from vacation next week to test these out. For the curiouser among you … here’s a guide to tasting truffle products. The guide is specifically written for truffle oils, but it applies equally to other truffle products. And, if you want to take it to the next level … rather than rubbing the oil on your hand, rub it on your lover! I can tell you this: I will eat my wife up any day of the week, but rub some truffles on her and I’ll be all over her like a truffle-hunting pig on a pine tree.

To make sure we are constantly spreading the sample love around … We are looking for a product tester for a new line of risotto rices. Arborio is not necessarily where

it is at … that’s just the entry level. Then comes Carnaroli … then Vialone Nano. And, there’s also integrale. I have a little box of a cup of each of the four rices for one of you. All I ask in return is that you test them out and write a review on either your blog or ours…I would love an insightful articulation of the differences between the varieties. For a starting point, check out our guide to risotto rice. Leave a comment below if you are interested and I’ll hook someone up.