Schwebel's to Resume Production 'Within 24 hours'
The Schwebel Baking Co. announced shortly before 4 p.m. today that an "independent, certified lab" confirmed earlier today that the species of listeria found in its plant here does not pose a risk to public heallth.
“Full production at the Youngstown facility is expected to resume within 24 hours,” said the company's president, Paul Schwebel. “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 ofproducts for our loyal customers.”
Production at the bakery was halted Tuesday when internal routine environmental sampling conducted by the company found the presence of an undetermined species of listeria in the facility.
As a result, Schwebel’s reported the 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 and voluntary with consumer safety being its primary concern," the company noted in its statement.
“We appreciate the loyalty of our customers and regret the inconvenience this product withdrawal has caused,” added Schwebel. “We have always and will always keep the general safety of our consumers at the forefront of our family business.”
In reporting the lab's test results, the company emphasized "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.