The Schwebel Baking Company announced Tuesday that it was voluntarily withdrawing certain bread products from the marketplace after finding Listeria in its Youngstown, Ohio, bakery during a scheduled environmental assessment. The products were shipped directly to retail outlets, restaurants and institutions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New York, Michigan, West Virginia and Kentucky. Consumers can identify the products by the code located near the “best by” date. If the code begins with the letter “A,” the product is part of the voluntary withdrawal. The unofficial recall includes Giant Eagle brand products. Consumers should not consume these products. They should throw them out or return them to the store where they were purchased. “Although there is no evidence at this point that any of our consumers or products have been impacted, we are taking this action as a precautionary measure to assure that our products are safe,” said Paul Schwebel, the company’s president. After discovering the Listeria, the company halted production and alerted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. None of Schwebel’s other bakeries are impacted. Listeriosis, a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, is an important public health problem in the U.S. The disease primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. However, rarely, persons without these risk factors can also be affected. The risk may be reduced by recommendations for safe food preparation, consumption and storage.
