Organic Water?

The ACCC has today negotiated with seven different suppliers of bottled water to remove the term organic from their product labels. 

The commission approached the water sellers after deeming that water could not possibly be organic:

"The word ‘organic’ in the context of food and drink refers to agricultural products which have been farmed according to certain practices. Water is not an agricultural product, and cannot benefit from such practices so it is not appropriate to use ‘organic’ to describe it."

They also found it likely that having the term organic on the product was likely to lead consumers into a false belief that organic water is somehow superior to regular water (or tap water... but that's another matter).

Although the companies argued that 'Organic' was part of a brand name - rather than a claim about quality - The ACCC disagreed.

The Deputy Chair of the ACCC, Delia Rickard, spoke of what the commission term "credence claims", essentially, words which attempt to give a product some premium status. These Credence Claims, particularly in the food and beverage industries, are a priority for the ACCC according to February's Compliance and Enforcement Policy. Recent cases have seen the commission take on Steggles' Free-To-Roam chickens and Coles' "freshly-baked" bread.

However, it is a credit to both the commission and the companies involved that - unlike Coles and Steggles - we the taxpayer were spared the expense of a long and nonsensical trial concerning the organic qualities of water.

Click here to read the ACCC Press Release
Click here to read the article from Megan Levy (Fairfax)