BPA free
The maker says the product contains no bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic and some can linings.
How to read it
BPA free is a claim makers print about their own products. Snapware, for example, says every product it currently sells is completely free of BPA. The US Food and Drug Administration describes BPA as an industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate, a hard, clear plastic, and says it is also in the epoxy resins that line some metal food and drink cans. In the US, BPA is regulated by FDA, which approves it, like any substance that migrates from packaging into food, as an indirect food additive or food contact substance. FDA’s current position is that BPA is safe at the levels now found in foods. It has amended its rules so they no longer provide for BPA-based materials in baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula packaging, because those uses had been abandoned.
Also searched as: bpa free label, bpa free logo, bpa free meaning, bpa free symbol.
These describe what each mark means and who defines it. Most are makers’ own icons rather than a standard, and the same mark can mean slightly different things on different brands. What a particular dish, pan or container can be used for is set by its maker, in its care and use instructions.
In the EU
EU law has gone further than FDA. Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, published on 19 December 2024, bans bisphenol A and other harmful bisphenols, with some exceptions, in plastics, varnishes, coatings, rubbers, silicones, printing inks, binders and ion exchange resins that touch food, with transitional periods for some products. The Finnish Food Authority says it is based on the latest risk assessment of BPA by EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority.
Which plastics
Pyrex says its airtight canisters, made of PET with polypropylene lids, are 100% BPA free.
Read next
- Next in Kitchenware symbolsDishwasher safeThe maker says the item can be washed in a dishwasher. There is no single official dishwasher safe symbol: each maker draws its own.
- PET is one of the plastics makers describe as BPA free.1 PETThe resin identification code for PET (polyethylene terephthalate), also written PETE. The number says what the item is made of; it does not say the item can be recycled where you live.
More kitchenware symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with circles or letters and numbers.
Sources
- Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Summary; Background
- Regulation (EU) 3190/2024 of bisphenols in food contact materials, Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto), Regulation (EU) 3190/2024
- Frequently Asked Questions, Carlisle Transportation Products (The Carlstar Group), Are Snapware® products BPA free?; airtight canisters
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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