Before-meal marker (an apple)
You, or the meter, labelled this result as taken before a meal. The label is kept with the result in memory and decides which target range the result is compared with and which average it counts towards.
Check your meter’s manual — makers differ.
What it is for
Choose it when the manual says to: the Contour guide (Ascensia) says “within 1 hour before a meal”. If your meter compares results with a before-meal range, check that the range set in it is the one your healthcare team gave you.
These pages report what each maker’s manual says and quote it wherever health is involved. They do not diagnose anything, they are not medical advice, and they never tell you how to treat a result; only your own meter’s manual and your healthcare team can do that for your model.
- What it looks like
- A whole apple, usually solid, with a stalk and a leaf, beside the result or in a list of tags.
- Names makers use
- Before meal (Accu-Chek); Before Meal marker (Contour); Before Meal tag (OneTouch Verio Reflect)
Where makes differ
The pre-set before-meal range is not the same: the Accu-Chek Guide manual (Roche) sets 70–110 mg/dL, the Contour Next One guide (Ascensia) 70 mg/dL–130 mg/dL, and the OneTouch Verio Reflect booklet (LifeScan) 70 to 130 mg/dL, each changeable. Contour ships with meal markers turned off. The OneTouch Verio Reflect applies a Before Meal tag automatically, and LifeScan’s booklet warns that changing it to After Meal may move the result to a different segment of the colour bar.
What it does not mean
It does not mean the result is good or bad, and it is not a reminder to eat. It is not the fasting marker, which the Accu-Chek and Contour manuals keep for 8 hours without food.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No published standard we could check defines blood glucose meter control icons, so this meaning is taken from 3 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Roche: Accu-Chek Guide blood glucose meter — user manual (US, PDF) — Symbol list: an apple for Before meal; Before Meal Range “70–110 mg/dL (pre-set target range)” in 2 Ranges mode. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Ascensia: CONTOUR NEXT ONE blood glucose monitoring system — user guide (US, PDF) — Symbol table: Before Meal marker; About Meal Markers: “Use when testing blood glucose levels within 1 hour before a meal”, Before Meal Target Range preset to 70 mg/dL–130 mg/dL; Meal Markers come turned off. Checked 2026-09-28.
- LifeScan: OneTouch Verio Reflect — owner’s booklet (US, PDF) — Meal and Event tags: Before Meal tag (an apple); Before Meal range pre-set low limit 70 mg/dL, high limit 130 mg/dL; “A Before Meal tag will automatically be applied to your result.” Checked 2026-09-28.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.