990508 Where's the Freshest Food? In Your Mailbox?

New York “We used to only order food from catalogs as gifts for the holidays,” laughs Gail Smith, a Pennsylvania attorney. “It looked so good and arrived so fast, we started ordering one or two items for ourselves. Now we order entire meals!”

Busy consumers -- many of them in two-career families like Gail's -- order food from catalogs to save time and energy, according to Amy Blankenship of the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA). “Whether you're having a small dinner for two, or a large springtime buffet on the patio, one phone, fax, mail or computer order will bring you everything you need, from appetizers to dessert,” says Blankenship, head of The DMA's Shop-At-Home Information Center. “Catalog orders often arrive fresher than items on grocers' shelves,” she adds. “Technological advances in insulated packaging and overnight shipping have made it possible to deliver fresh seafood, baked goods, and other items once thought too perishable to ship.”

“Ordering by catalog is a wonderful way for the whole family to sample a new dish or enjoy an old favorite, especially when the food is neither in season nor available locally.”

The DMA offers these tips for ordering fresh foods by mail:

-- Keep a record of your transaction, including the company name, address and phone number, and the description, tracking number, and date of your order.

-- Ask about the item's cold source, and how long the food will be in transit. The cold source must last long enough for the food to arrive still frozen.

-- Make sure the package will have an outside label identifying it as perishable food.

-- Have food delivered to a place and at a time someone will be available to open the package promptly.

-- Follow the company's directions for storage.

-- If you have any questions at all about food you receive by mail, call the cataloger immediately. Responsible companies will replace damaged or inedible products.

More tips for catalog and Internet shopping can be found at www.shoptheweb.org.

Among the catalogs shoppers will be ordering from this spring is Virginia Traditions, whose authentic Southern cuisine features meats (hickory-smoked Virginia hams, and sausage links or patties), seafood, and dessert specialties. For appetizers, soups, corn-fed Midwestern beef, oven-ready roasts, lamb, pork, and veal entrees, look to Omaha Steaks. The catalog also offers tempting seafood selections like sea bass and trout filets.

Hale Groves specializes in mouthwatering fruits. Its “Spring Treat Tower” features succulent grapefruit and oranges--plus a full pound of chocolate walnut fudge. For more sweets, order “The Greatest Brownies in All of Fairyland” from Fairytale Brownies, where 12 gourmet flavors include amaretto, peanut butter, and toffee crunch. The company also offers special Mother's Day and Father's Day gift sets.

And don't forget nutritional and digestive supplements for the four-legged members of your family. Among the wide range of products carried in the veterinarian-produced Foster & Smith catalog are a special, appetite-stimulating gravy for finicky dogs, and a lactose-free, digestible milk for cats.

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