What do you need?
Stickers are available by the fridge in the parent and child room.
Advice for at home
- Food that is eaten cold should be stored in the refrigerator until you leave for the Princess Máxima Center.
- Please store raw and prepared products in the refrigerator separately (e.g. by wrapping them in clingfilm or aluminum foil, bowls or refrigerator boxes).
- Place raw products lower down and prepared products higher up in the refrigerator.
Transporting food and drinks
- Food that is eaten cold should be stored in the refrigerator until you leave for the Princess Máxima Center (e.g. by wrapping it in clingfilm or aluminum foil, bowls or refrigerator boxes).
- Place raw products lower down and prepared products higher up in the refrigerator.
- Transport products in a cool bag with ice packs which are not packaged in sealed boxes or aluminum foil. This also applies to non-refrigerated products.
- Bringing in hot meals is not recommended because of bacteria that may get into the food.
Storing food in the Princess Máxima Center
For reasons of food safety, when storing food brought from outside the hospital in your own or a shared refrigerator, please attach a sticker stating:
- Your name (or your child’s); you are the owner;
- The name of the food product, if it is clearly visible on the packaging;
- The date on which the product was placed in the refrigerator (refrigerator temperature 4°C).
The Princess Máxima Center accepts no responsibility for the safety of food brought in from outside.
How long can you keep food?
In general, the shorter the time the food is stored for, the safer it is.
Take note of the expiry date and storage instructions on the packaging.
If the packaging specifies a shorter storage period than shown in the table below, go with the information on the packaging.
Working method
- Check the stickers on homemade food every day. It can be kept from the date you put the food in the fridge until the day after.
- Homemade food that does not have a sticker will be removed from the refrigerator when it is inspected by the dietary assistant/service employee.
- Food and drinks which are past their best before/use by* dates will be removed from the refrigerator when it is inspected by the dietary assistant/service employee.
- Wherever possible, you will be informed about the reasons why food/drinks need to be removed.
Keeping the fridge in the parent/child unit clean
The refrigerator in the parent/child unit is thoroughly cleaned by the service technician before the parent/child unit is released for use, in accordance with the cleaning protocol.
As the parent/guardian, you are responsible for keeping the refrigerator clean during your child’s admission.
Food supplied by third parties
The Princess Máxima Center advises against bringing in food supplied by third parties (snack bars/sandwich shops) because it does not verifiably comply with food hygiene guidelines. Fast food chains that prepare their food fresh to order are tolerated in practice. The Princess Máxima Center accepts no liability whatsoever for food supplied by third parties. As such, food supplied by third parties is consumed entirely at your own risk.