what does this symbol mean?

Kitchenware symbols

The marks on the base of dishes, glasses, pans and food containers: dishwasher safe, microwave safe, oven and freezer safe, induction, the glass and fork, and BPA free, and what each one means.

Test yourself: Kitchenware symbols quiz

Dishwasher 3 symbols

Microwave 2 symbols

Oven, freezer and hob 3 symbols

Food contact 3 symbols

About kitchenware symbols

The small icons moulded into the base of a plastic box or printed under a plate are mostly the maker’s own. Whirlpool and Bosch both say there is no universal symbol for dishwasher safe, and the same goes for the microwave, oven and freezer marks: each brand draws its own, so the pages here describe the common forms and say whose they are. The exception is the glass and fork, which is set by EU law.

Dishwasher marks

The dishwasher safe mark usually shows a wine glass or plates with water falling on them, often in a box or a dishwasher rack. A version with written directions means top rack only, and the icon crossed out means hand wash only. Brands don’t all agree on what the plain mark covers: Sistema says its dishwasher symbol already means the top rack. Bosch keeps a separate term, dishwasher proof, for tableware certified to the European standard EN 12875, marked with the number of dishwasher cycles it can withstand.

Microwave, oven, freezer and hob

Wavy lines mean microwave safe, and the same lines crossed out mean not microwave safe. A snowflake is freezer safe. Oven safe marks often carry a maximum temperature. A coil on the base of a pan is the induction mark. Sistema says its products without the relevant mark aren’t meant for that use, and Mepal crosses the mark out on products that aren’t.

Food contact

The glass and fork is the symbol in Annex II of EU Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, one of the ways an item can be labelled as made for food. In the US, FDA allows the same glass and fork in a slashed circle on decorative ceramics that are not for food use. BPA free is a maker’s claim about a chemical regulated by FDA in the US and largely banned from food contact materials in the EU. The numbers in a triangle on plastic are a separate system, the recycling symbols, which Whirlpool notes identify the type of plastic.

Sources

  1. Dishwasher safe and other tableware symbols, Whirlpool Corporation, Dishwasher safe symbols; Other dishware symbols
  2. Dishwasher symbols, Bosch Home Appliances (BSH Hausgeräte), Dishwasher safe symbol and dishwasher proof symbol
  3. FAQs, Sistema Plastics, FAQ'S
  4. What do the symbols and specifications on a product mean?, Mepal, Symbols
  5. Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, European Parliament and Council of the European Union (EUR-Lex), Article 15(1)(a)
  6. 21 CFR 109.16 Ornamental and decorative ceramicware, 21 CFR 109.16, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (eCFR), § 109.16(c)(2)
  7. Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Background
  8. Regulation (EU) 3190/2024 of bisphenols in food contact materials, Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto), Regulation (EU) 3190/2024

Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research