No eating or drinking sign (P022)
A red ring and diagonal bar across a cup and food means eating and drinking are forbidden where the sign is posted. It is sign P022 in ISO 7010; lab signs often word it “No food or drink”.
How to read it
ISO 3864-1 defines the red ring and bar as a prohibition sign, indicating “a specific behaviour is forbidden”, and ISO 7010 registers this one as P022, “No eating or drinking”. The University of Houston’s lab door signs carry it as “No food or drink beyond this point”, and its safety office says food and drink are prohibited in almost every lab unless the food is the subject of the research and is not for human consumption.
Also searched as: no eating or drinking symbol, no food in lab sign, no food or drink sign, no food or drink symbol, no food sign, P022.
These explain what each sign means and which standard sets it. What to do in a laboratory is set by the lab’s own rules, signs and trained staff; for a chemical, refer to its label and safety data sheet.
The rules behind the sign
OSHA’s sanitation rule says no employee may consume food or beverages in any area exposed to a toxic material, and that no food or beverages may be stored there. OSHA’s non-mandatory appendix on laboratory chemical hygiene goes further for labs where hazardous chemicals are used or stored: it says eating, drinking, smoking, gum chewing, applying cosmetics and taking medicine there should be strictly prohibited.
On fridges and microwaves
The same sign goes on equipment. Harvard’s safety office publishes a printable pictogram sign for equipment and areas in labs where food or drink may not be consumed, handled or stored. The University of North Carolina’s labels include “Food Use Only” for equipment kept for food, and it says chemical refrigerators carry the words “NO FOOD, BEVERAGE, OR ICE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION”.
Look-alikes
A tap in a red ring is P005, “Not drinking water”: a sign about the water supply, not about eating. Houston’s door signs use a separate drinking water restriction where the plumbed water is not fit to drink. A cigarette in a red ring is No smoking, P002.
Read next
- Next in Lab safety symbolsNo open flame sign (P003)A red ring and diagonal bar across a lit match means open flames are forbidden where the sign is posted, and smoking with them. It is sign P003 in ISO 7010.
- The red prohibition sign category P022 belongs to.Prohibition sign (red circle and slash)A red ring with a red diagonal bar over a black pictogram means that what the pictogram shows is forbidden, such as smoking or touching.
More lab safety symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with circles or lines.
Sources
- ISO 3864-1:2011, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 1: Design principles for safety signs and safety markings (preview), ISO 3864-1:2011, International Organization for Standardization, preview via iTeh Standards, 3.7, Table 1
- ISO 7010:2011, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Registered safety signs (preview), ISO 7010:2011, International Organization for Standardization, preview via iTeh Standards, Table 1
- Laboratory Doorsigns, University of Houston Environmental Health and Safety, Information and Restrictions
- Sanitation (29 CFR 1910.141), 29 CFR 1910.141, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1910.141(g)(2), (g)(4)
- National Research Council Recommendations Concerning Chemical Hygiene in Laboratories (Non-Mandatory), Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.1450, 29 CFR 1910.1450 Appendix A, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Basic rules and procedures
- Food Use Safety Labels, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Environment, Health and Safety
- Lab No Food or Drink Allowed Sign (Pictogram), Harvard Environmental Health and Safety, Summary
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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