Watchdog says “organic water” claims are misleading

Not all consumers are over-achievers. Quite a few are obviously a few coins short of a roll. Otherwise they would not have been buying bottled tap water marked as “organic”.

At last, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ruled that eight bottled water sellers had to change their names or risk action for misleading conduct. “Organic standards acknowledge that water cannot be organic," the ACCC announced on 16 July 2013. "Any claim that particular water is organic would therefore be misleading or deceptive."

Several of the companies had argued that the word “organic” was part of their brand name, and not a representation. But the consumer watchdog disagreed.

In the context of food and drink, the word “organic” refers to agricultural products that have been farmed according to certain practices and standards.