Custom Food Labels for Hospital Cafeterias
Normally when you think of custom labels used in hospital settings, the focus is on labels that pertain to medical treatment and medical classification needs. In most hospitals, though, labels are needed by more than physicians, technicians, nurses, and administrators. To support great food service, labels are also required by hospital cafeteria workers. For example, our custom food labels for hospital cafeterias are commonly applied for the following purposes.
Indicate Expiration Dates
Expiration dates can rub off of food containers due to moisture and frequent handling. This is why it’s a good idea to apply food labels that clearly indicate expiration dates. When it comes to the cafeteria, supplying healthy, fresh food is the number one priority. Our high-quality food labels help hospitals maintain stock items to ensure freshness. In doing so, they help protect the health of patients and, by extension, help prevent avoidable healthcare costs.
Identify Sugar-Free Food
Some patient populations — especially diabetics and people who have hyperglycemia — need to eat a sugar restricted diet to prevent poor health outcomes. You could always search the food ingredient list to see if a foodstuff contains sugar. However, attaching custom food labels that indicate sugar’s presence offers a faster way to make the determination. The health of patients is protected, and the cafeteria can experience increased productivity.
Identify Sodium-Free Food
Like sugar, sodium is an ingredient that’s often a no-no for patients who have certain conditions, particularly high blood pressure and cirrhosis. As with identifying sugar-free foods with custom labels, identifying sodium-free foods in the same manner provides a faster frame of reference for food ingredients, and helps prevent the potentially critical mistake of serving food that’s replete with sodium to patients who have a restricted sodium diet.
Long-Term Freezer Storage
Some hospital cafeterias serve thousands of people a day, not including meals prepared for patients. To get the most food for the lowest price, the cafeteria manager often orders foodstuffs in bulk, and then stores them in commercial freezers until it is needed.
When labels, such as the ones above, need to be applied to the freezer containers, labels whose adhesive is designed for cold storage make all the difference. Cold storage adhesive doesn’t become brittle and non-adhesive during long periods of cold storage. Before you buy, though, be sure you’re getting labels that are designed for the storage temperature you use.
Who We Are
Shamrock Labels is a longtime provider of labeling solutions for hospitals, pharmacies, physician offices and more. In addition to providing hospitals with labels that address medical treatment, we offer food labels that can be put to good use in the hospital cafeteria.
We can serve as your single source for all hospital-related labeling requirements, providing both stock solutions and custom designed solutions that address your specific needs. To inquire about our custom food labels, call us today at (800) 323-0249, or use our contact form. We look forward to helping your cafeteria provide a high level of food service for patients and personnel.