(Distributed 11/09/07) If you’ve been confused in the past about the temperature you needed to cook your holiday turkey, you now need to remember only one temperature, 165 degrees. Past food safety guidelines recommended higher temperatures for some poultry products, including 170 degrees for chicken breasts and 180 degrees for whole birds.

The Louisiana yam is an exceptional type of sweet potato, sweet and flavorful, with a soft moist flesh. It is delicious whether baked, boiled, fried, mashed, candied or used in hundreds of other ways — from main dishes to desserts. This publication includes information on the nutritive value, selection and preparations for freezing, boiling or candying yams or sweet potatoes.

The answer to the hungry question, "Is it Done Yet?" is the basis of a national campaign to encourage the use of food thermometers when preparing meat, poultry and egg dishes, to prevent foodborne illness.

Make sure your lemon ice box pie or key lime pie is safe for the Easter holidays, warns LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames. "Eating raw or undercooked eggs is a risk for foodborne illness."

This publication includes information on how to prepare a healthy supper every day without spending hours in the kitchen. It also includes information and tips to save time and money.

LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames says to choose Louisiana strawberries for a nutritious, healthy treat.

Although consumers don’t give much thought about the kinds of containers they use in the microwave, not all plastics are safe, according to LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames. Fortunately, she says consumers can depend on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for careful testing of microwave containers.

Yams are one of nature’s most nutritious root crops and are among the most versatile of all foods. This publication includes information on how they can be prepared dozens of ways.

Greens are one of the few fresh vegetables that grow well in the late fall, winter and early spring. Greens make significant contributions of nutrients to the diet and can be served in a variety of ways.

You can enjoy the delicious flavor of fresh fruits year-round by freezing fruits and berries during the short season when they are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. Freezing will not improve the quality of any food but will maintain it if the procedures recommended in this publication are followed.