What does this symbol on a container or pan mean?

Turn the tub, dish or pan over and match the drawing. Each of the 11 symbols has its own page: what it means, what it does not promise, and the law or makers’ pages behind it.

Set by law — 2 symbols

The only two with a legal definition.

Glass and fork (for food contact)Set by EU law DO NOT EAT (crossed-out figure eating)Set by EU law

Microwave — 2 symbols

Wavy lines, sometimes in a box.

Microwave-safeMarket convention · 4 makers’ keys Not microwave-safe (crossed-out waves)Market convention · 2 makers’ keys

Dishwasher and washing up — 3 symbols

Plates or glasses under water.

Dishwasher-safeMarket convention · 5 makers’ keys Top rack only (dishwasher)Market convention · 2 makers’ keys Hand wash only (not dishwasher-safe)Market convention · 2 makers’ keys

Freezer and temperature — 2 symbols

Snowflake, thermometer, °C.

Freezer-safe (snowflake)Market convention · 4 makers’ keys Temperature limits (minimum and maximum °C)Market convention · 3 makers’ keys

Oven and hob — 2 symbols

Oven door, induction coil.

Oven-safe (with the maximum temperature)Market convention · 2 makers’ keys Induction (coil symbol)Market convention · 4 makers’ keys

Regulation or market convention?

Only two symbols here are set by law. The glass and fork comes from Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, Article 15 and Annex II: something sold to touch food must carry the words ‘for food contact’, a description of its use (the regulation’s examples are coffee machine, wine bottle and soup spoon) or this symbol, unless it is obviously meant for food. The DO NOT EAT figure comes from Regulation (EC) No 450/2009, Article 11 and Annex I, for sachets and pads inside a pack that could be mistaken for food. Every other symbol on this page is a market convention.

This symbol is a market convention: no law or public standard defines the drawing, so each maker draws its own and the meaning is whatever that maker says it is. Finish, which makes dishwasher detergent, puts it plainly: there is ‘no universally approved dishwasher safe symbol’. So each convention symbol here is backed by at least two makers’ or retailers’ own keys, and where their drawings differ, the symbol’s page says how.

Four things worth knowing

The glass and fork is about food, not heat. It says the item is meant to touch food. It is not a microwave, oven or dishwasher mark. Wisefood warns that people confuse it with the dishwasher symbol. See glass and fork.
A crossed-out symbol and a missing symbol can mean the same thing. Mepal crosses out its microwave and dishwasher icons. Sistema prints nothing and says products without its symbol cannot go in the microwave or dishwasher.
Lids and handles have their own limits. Nordic Houseware Group marks some boxes oven-safe with NO LID. Tefal gives one pan range a handle rated to 175 °C in the oven. See oven-safe.
Where the water falls matters. On a dishwasher symbol, water over the whole drawing usually means either rack. Water over only the top means the top rack. See top rack only.

What this page cannot do

It cannot tell you whether your particular item really is what its symbols say. A symbol is the maker’s statement, and the item’s own instructions come first.
The crossed-out glass and fork, which is not defined in the regulation (it has only the plain glass and fork), is left out: we did not find two makers or retailers whose own pages use it. If you see one, treat it as that maker’s own warning and read the label.
Hob-type icons for gas, ceramic and electric are left out. Stellar’s symbol key draws them, and IKEA says its pans carry symbols for gas, ceramic and induction. But we found only one maker’s page that actually shows the gas, ceramic and electric drawings, so only the induction coil has a page.
No test mark is drawn. Wisefood, a German retailer, links a pictogram with five water jets and a cycle count to testing of crockery to DIN 12875. The standard’s text is sold, not published, and we have not seen it define a symbol. So we do not draw one or say that it does.
The rules quoted are the EU’s, and Great Britain’s retained copy of them. We have not checked other countries’ labelling rules.

Sources

Every page below was fetched and read on the date shown. Each symbol page lists what its sources show.

EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the European Union): Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food — Article 15 (labelling) and Annex II (the symbol) Checked 2026-09-24.
legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives, UK): Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, Article 15 — the text as adopted by the EU Checked 2026-09-24.
legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives, UK): Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, Article 15 — as it applies in Great Britain Checked 2026-09-24.
legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives, UK): Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, Article 3 — general requirements Checked 2026-09-24.
European Commission (DG Health and Food Safety): Food contact materials — Legislation Checked 2026-09-24.
European Commission (DG Health and Consumers): Symbols to label food contact materials — working document SANCO E3/FV, 15 September 2009 Checked 2026-09-24.
Wisefood (catering-disposables retailer, Germany): The mark for food safety Checked 2026-09-24.
Whirlpool: Dishwasher Safe & Other Tableware Symbols Checked 2026-09-24.
EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the European Union): Commission Regulation (EC) No 450/2009 on active and intelligent materials and articles intended to come into contact with food — Article 11 and Annex I Checked 2026-09-24.
FAOLEX (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations): Commission Regulation (EC) No 450/2009 — copy of Official Journal L 135, 30.5.2009, pp. 3–11 Checked 2026-09-24.
legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives, UK): Regulation (EC) No 450/2009, Article 11 — as it applies in Great Britain Checked 2026-09-24.
Mepal: What do the symbols and specifications on a product mean? Checked 2026-09-24.
Nordic Houseware Group: Understanding Symbols Checked 2026-09-24.
Million Pack (food-packaging manufacturer, Ningbo): What the Microwave Safe Symbol Looks Like and Means? (10 November 2025) Checked 2026-09-24.
Sistema: FAQ's Checked 2026-09-24.
Pyrex (US): Frequently Asked Questions Checked 2026-09-24.
Finish (Reckitt): Dishwasher safe symbols explained Checked 2026-09-24.
Stellar: Stellar Cookware Buying Guide — the Stellar cookware symbols Checked 2026-09-24.
Royal Doulton: Care Guide Checked 2026-09-24.
Million Pack (food-packaging manufacturer, Ningbo): Practical Guide to Food Packaging Symbols (12 December 2025) Checked 2026-09-24.
Tefal UK: User manual and frequently asked questions — Tefal Hard Titanium+ Non-Stick Induction Pan Range Checked 2026-09-24.
DI ORO: How to Know If Pan Is Induction Compatible Checked 2026-09-24.
Wisefood (catering-disposables retailer, Germany): Mark for induction-suitable cookware (10 November 2021) Checked 2026-09-24.
IKEA Netherlands: Is my pan suitable for my IKEA hob? Checked 2026-09-24.