Listeria found in Schwebel Baking Company not a risk
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
The bacteria found in Schwebel Baking Company on Tuesday has been confirmed to not be the species of listeria that poses a risk to public health, an independent, certified lab confirmed Wednesday.
“Full production at the Youngstown facility is expected to resume within 24 hours,” Schwebel Baking Company President Paul Schwebel said. “We remain focused on consumer safety. That goal guides our current efforts to get our Youngstown bakery back online and will allow us to produce our full range of products for our loyal customers.”
Production at the bakery was halted this week when internal routine environmental sampling conducted by the company found the presence of an undetermined species of listeria in the facility. Schwebel’s reported these preliminary findings to the Food and Drug Administration and immediately initiated a voluntary withdrawal of all products shipped from the facility. All of the company’s actions to date have been self-directed.
“We appreciate the loyalty of our customers and regret the inconvenience this product withdrawal has caused,” said Schwebel. “We have always and will always keep the general safety of our consumers at the forefront of our family business.”
Test results found that the listeria discovered in the bakery poses no health threat to bakery workers or consumers.
Schwebel’s, founded in 1906, operates four bakeries in Ohio.