Freezer Safety Tip When You're Away

Here's a tip to save you a post-vacation-food-poisoning-induced-trip to the emergency room.
Food in your freezer could have languished at unsafe temperatures if the power goes out when you’re on vacation,and then returned to its frozen state when the power goes back on.
Use this tip from the Nebraska University Extension service to see if food is safe to eat. When organizing your freezer, keep an ice cube or two in a sealed plastic bag or small container in the freezer. It must be a sealed bag/container so the ice cube doesn't evaporate and disappear. If the ice cube has melted down from its original shape, you'll know the power was off for an extended period of time. And you'll have to toss the contents of your freezer.
For more tips on food safety go to:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/severe_storms_and_hurricanes_guide/