Along with growing our own food, one of the things us Sensible People do is buy as low on the food chain, corporately speaking, as we can. If you don't have a bodega, a family-owned grocery, a salvage/scratch'n'dent store that you patronize you still probably know of some in your area.

They need your help. They're not getting the word about this Castleberry canned-food recall and the situation is worse than we thought. Tonight's NYT:

Cans of recalled food are bursting, swollen with bacteria that cause botulism.

The bursting cans were among those being held by Castleberry's Food Co., which last week announced a massive recall that now includes more than 90 potentially contaminated products, including chili sauces and dog foods.

Spot checks by the Food and Drug Administration and state officials are turning up recalled products for sale in convenience stores, gas stations and family-run groceries.

The FDA has found recalled products for sale in roughly 250 of the more than 3,700 stores visited in nationwide checks, according to figures the agency provided to The Associated Press.

Castleberry itself is not all that big a company compared to Hormel or ConAgra. And the stuff they sell--the house brands, the off-label-- is the stuff of the poor, the unemployed, the student, the people least likely to be tuned in to the news.

Time for us to help out. Go to Castleberry'swebsite and print out the list. There's 90 damn items on it including dozens of different brands. Make a few copies and drop 'em off at every 7-11 and Kwik-Mart and mom-n-pop shop you pass.

If you have time, check the aisles and see if you spot any of the Bad Shit. Not everything Castleberry makes is on the list--they honest to God produced canned tripe but I'm not sure that's one of the recalled items--but look for what you can find.

We can do political outrage over the failures of the Federal agencies that should be have had a fax to every store licensed to sell food in the country the day after this was announced later. Right now let's get out there and protect our friends, our neighbors and, oh yeah, ourselves.

Some more jollies from NYT about what we're dealing with here:

The bacteria produce a toxin that causes botulism, a muscle-paralyzing disease.

''We're not talking here about a bug that lands you in the bathroom for a few days with diarrhea. We're talking about a toxin that puts you in the intensive care unit,'' said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's lead food safety expert. ''This is foodborne illness with an extra kick in it, big time.''

The bacteria thrive in moist, oxygen-free environments; inside canned food is a perfect place.

As the bacteria grow and reproduce, they produce gases that can cause contaminated cans to swell and burst. Health officials say the extremely potent toxin can infect people if it is inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the eye or breaks in the skin.

''The longer this stuff stays in the can, the worse it gets,'' Acheson said.

It was not immediately clear how many cans had burst. Earlier FDA tests on 17 bulging cans being held by Castleberry's found 16 that contained the toxin.

FDA and officials in some states worry that word of the recall has not reached all consumers or retailers.

Mal appetit.

ADDENDUM: Small stores get burned by recalls because they often deal in such small quantities that they have a hard time getting their money back on bad products and have to (you should pardon the expression) eat the loss.

Castleberry's, showing rare corporate good sense, has a page you (if you have any of this stuff in your cupboard, air raid shelter, etc), or the store, can send in by email to get your money back on any of their stuff you have to throw away. Don't even need a stamp. You might want to make a note of this on the printouts of the recalled items.