When we travel, there is usually plenty of food left in our fridge or freezer, waiting to be eaten when we return. If the power goes out during that time, it could spoil without you noticing. The same applies to holidaymakers travelling to countries where the electricity supply is not as stable as at home. It can often happen that the power goes out for a few hours, and your food is no longer cooled. This simple trick helps you to find out whether your food is still edible.

Why you should always put a coin in your freezer compartment?

With the help of the coin trick, you don’t have to worry about food poisoning. When you move into your holiday flat or go away for a long time, it’s worth putting a coin in the freezer. Here’s how the trick works:

Fill a cup or other plastic container to the top with water and put it in the freezer until the water is frozen. This can take a few hours.

Now place a coin on the top of the frozen surface. Then place the container and the coin in the freezer.

What does the coin say about the freezer?

In most cases, a power cut is over quickly. However, if it lasts for several hours, the food in the freezer will spoil, and you may get sick. If the power failure lasts longer, the ice in the container melts, and the coin sinks to the bottom. The lower the coin has sunk, the longer the power failure will have lasted. What is certain is that if you see that the coin is no longer on the surface of the ice but has sunk to the bottom, the food is no longer edible.  You should throw it away because it could contain germs or has simply gone bad.