Tom Incantalupo

The federal government and the meat industry have been doing a fair but flawed job of handling the mad cow scare, according to experts in crisis management, evidenced by the apparent absence of widespread consumer concern about eating beef.

On the other hand, some experts said, the U.S. Agriculture Department and the meat industry have had help in the form of other big stories to divert some media attention – especially the orange terror alert – and the holiday season when Americans preoccupied with family celebrations might be following the news less closely than usual.

“Had the mad cow story broken at a different time, it might be getting more attention,” said Larry Smith, head of a Louisville, Ky.-based communications consulting firm, the Institute for Crisis Management.

Some experts think it’s simply too soon to grade the government and industry’s handling of the issue. “There are no signs of panic as long as this theory of one cow holds up,” said Richard Laermer, head of RLM Public Relations Inc. of New York and Los Angeles. He faults the industry and government for not taking quick action to tighten inspections of cattle.

“I haven’t seen anybody do anything but talk,” Laermer said. “In crisis communications we’ve learned that the only way to clean up a mess is to come clean and do something about it.”

Mark Fabiani, partner in the crisis consulting firm Fabiani and Lehane of La Jolla and San Francisco, Calif., thinks the government erred early on in overly minimizing the danger. “When the first pronouncement is that it’s limited, that it’s one cow, that there’s no danger, that creates a set of expectations,” he said. “When people read later that this beef went to eight states, they start to get the impression that maybe these first pronouncements weren’t fully informed.”

Jonathan Bernstein, editor of the newsletter Crisis Management International and head of Bernstein Crisis Management of Los Angeles, says federal officials used too much jargon in their early briefings and seemed concerned mostly with the economic impact of the scare. “A consumer is much more interested in ‘Can I serve roast beef for Christmas?’” Bernstein said. “I think they [federal officials] need to communicate to the end user much more as opposed to the industry.”

Several experts said that, regardless of developments in tracking the disease in this country, the issue of meat safety is likely to stay in the headlines in coming weeks as Congress returns from its holiday break and begins looking into the nation’s cattle and meat inspection program.

“The Democrats are looking for any issue they can to beat up on Bush and the Republican Congress,” said Larry Kamer, head of the issues and crisis management practice in the San Francisco office of the public relations firm Manning Selvage & Lee. “I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot from them.”