A New Mexico man is paralyzed with botulism poisoning and state health officials said Wednesday they are trying to determine if he ate canned food involved in a nationwide recall.

Stores nationwide are continuing to sell recalled canned chili, stew, and other foods potentially contaminated with poisonous bacteria even after repeated warnings the products could kill.

RECALL NOTICE -FDA Expands Its Warning about the Risk of Botulism Poisoning From Certain CastlWashington, DC (rushprnews) July 23, 2007- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expanding its July 18 warning to consumers. This expansion is for consumers and pet owners regarding canned food products and dog food produced by Castleberry’s Food

Botulism poisoning from commercially canned foods has been virtually eliminated in the United States, making the new cases linked to hot dog chili sauce all the more striking.

This is serious. People could die. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat 10 ounce cans of Castleberry’s Hot Dog Chili Sauce (UPC 3030000101), Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce (UPC 3030099533), and Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce (UPC 1111083942) with “best by” dates from April 30, 2009 through May 22, 2009.

Botulism (Latin, botulus, "sausage") is a rare, but serious paralytic illness caused by a toxin, botulin, that is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Botulinic toxin is one of the most powerful known toxins: about one microgram is lethal to humans. It acts by blocking nerve function and leads to respiratory and musculoskeletal paralysis.There are three main kinds of botulism:Infant botulism is caused by swallowing the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow inside of the infants intestines and release toxin.Foodborne botulism is caused by eating foods that contain the rare botulinum toxin.Wound botulism is caused by a nerve toxin produced from a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum. This is the rarest type of botulism. It is very difficult to obtain it this way.All forms of botulism can be lethal and are always considered medical emergencies. Foodborne botulism can be extremely dangerous as a public health risk because multiple people can consume the poison from a single contaminated food source.In the United States an average of 110 cases of botulism are reported each year. Of these, approximately 25% are foodborne, 72% are infant botulism, and 3% are wound botulism. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur during most years and are usually caused by the consumption of home-canned foods. The number of cases of foodborne and infant botulism has changed little in recent years, but wound botulism has increased because of the use of black tar heroin, especially in California. In July 2007, a widespread recall was initiated due to botulism contamination of food manufactured by Castleberry's Food Company. Shortly after in August 2007, the FDA issued a warning of botulism risk from canned French cut green beans manufactured by Lakeside Foods Inc, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.