Cooking.com First Culinary Retailer to Get BBBOnLine Seal of Approval; Company Committed to Customer Privacy; Eases Consumers' Concerns.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 2, 1999--

After a strict review of its privacy policy, Cooking.com, the leading online retailer of cookware and specialty foods, earned a BBBOnLine Privacy Seal. Cooking.com is the first site of its kind to be recognized for its privacy policies.

"We understand the concerns Internet shoppers have with regards to their privacy and having their personal information distributed to third parties," said Dave Hodess, founder and chief executive officer, Cooking.com. "The BBBOnLine Privacy Seal reinforces our already explicit privacy policy and gives our customers one less thing to worry about when doing their holiday shopping online."

Companies that earn the seal undergo a review of their privacy policy and a comprehensive evaluation of the processes in place to adhere to the policy. The companies must meet stringent rules on how they protect the privacy of online consumers. Cooking.com agreed to participate in a dispute resolution program set up by BBBOnLine to address consumer privacy complaints. BBBOnLine has awarded more than 100 seals with more than 600 applications under review.

"Our seal is a way for consumers to safeguard their privacy when shopping online," said Russ Bodoff, senior vice president BBBOnLine. "Cooking.com has shown the strongest dedication to protecting consumer privacy by meeting our requirements and we commend them."

The seal indicates that Cooking.com has not only adopted and implemented an Internet privacy policy and data security measures, but it also meets the BBBOnLine's more stringent Internet data privacy requirements, including: -0-

--   Establishing a privacy policy that meets BBBOnLine's "core"
     principles, including disclosure, choice and security.

--   Assuring that its information management practices comply with
     its privacy policies, and that information it collects online is
     secure from unauthorized access.

--   Allowing individuals to opt-out or otherwise prohibit unrelated
     uses of individually identifiable information about them.

--   Providing consumer-friendly dispute settlement.

About Cooking.com

Cooking.com (www.cooking.com) is the leading online retailer of cookware and specialty foods. The site offers round-the-clock accessibility to more than 5,000 products from brands such as Calphalon, Henckels and Waring. Through its exclusive relationship with Burt Wolf, one of the nation's best known experts on food and cooking equipment, Cooking.com offers the most up-to-date culinary product information and entertaining ideas.

In addition, Cooking.com provides thousands of recipes and cook's tips. World-renowned chefs, cookbook authors and restaurateurs develop the site's content, creating a unique destination for people who like to cook. Cooking.com's firm commitment to customer service ensures its customers receive individual attention and an easy and hassle-free shopping experience.

About the BBBOnLine Privacy Program

The BBBOnLine Privacy Program awards an easily recognizable and affordable online "seal" to businesses that post and adhere to online privacy policies that meet the required "core" principles, such as disclosure, choice, and security. It provides a consumer-friendly dispute settlement process and offers specific consequences for non-compliance, such as seal withdrawal, publicity and referral to government enforcement agencies.

BBBOnLine, Inc. is a subsidiary of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. Original founding sponsors include America Online, Ameritech, AT&T Corp., Bank of America, Dun & Bradstreet, Eastman Kodak Company, GTE, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, The Procter & Gamble Company, Reed Elsevier Inc., Road Runner, Sony Electronics, U S WEST Media Group, Visa U.S.A., and Xerox Corporation.