If there has been a massive turning away from beef as a result of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (so-called “mad cow” disease), direct marketers that specialize in steaks and the like claim not to have experienced it. Whether they have taken steps to reassure their customers varies greatly by company.

For instance, at Omaha Steaks “the fallout has been very small, as far as our customers being overly concerned, or any changes in our sales projections,” said spokeswoman Beth Weiss. The company got fewer than 100 calls a day just after reports of the disease in the United States broke on Dec. 23, out of “thousands” of calls its service center receives, according to Weiss.

Like many direct marketers of meat, Omaha Steaks sells solid muscle meat, which are steaks and roasts. Mad cow disease only presents a risk when brain tissue and spinal cord matter are used either as cattle feed or as delicacies.

But the firm realized customers would have concerns, so it provided an overview on the safety of its products to its phone workers, and posted a series of frequently asked questions regarding mad cow disease on its Web site.

By Christmas Day, the calls about the disease had trailed off to “nearly nothing,” Weiss said.

“There were no orders cancelled,” she added. “We are extremely thankful [that] we have been able to calm any fears our customers might have had.”

Grand Prairie, TX-based Ranchers Choice Inc. planned to send letters to its customer file around the first of the year, according to Joel Van Pelt, the firm's president and owner. Those receiving it were to include some 50 high-end restaurants and about 1,000 individuals.

As with Omaha Steaks, Van Pelt stood on the quality of his product. “All of our beef is traceable,” he said. “We know their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers and the fields they have grazed in.”

The animals' backgrounds are not an insignificant point, given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has linked the disease to a dairy cow located in Washington state, as all marketers surveyed were quick to point out.

Even though Ranchers Choice mentions this on its Web site, one customer called and requested that the meat be “mad cow free,” according to Van Pelt. “But that didn't stop him from ordering $200 worth of steaks.”

Some marketers, such as Fairbury Steaks, are viewing the disease more as a media malady than an actual threat to their product. Dennis Brown, who owns the Fairbury, NE company, reported receiving only one phone call about it out of a 5,000-name customer base.

“I have faith in the USDA,” he said. And apparently his customers do as well: Brown said his order volume hadn't fallen off since the initial reports came to light.