Australian Organic welcomes water ruling

Australian Organic  has announced that it is pleased to see that seven suppliers of bottled water will remove the word ‘organic’ from their labels and marketing. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed the changes after negotiations with suppliers. Chair of Australian Organic, Dr Andrew Monk, says the results are long overdue, but a very positive step by the Commission to protect unsuspecting consumers. Under organic certification standards in Australia, water cannot be certified organic because it doesn’t have agricultural origins. 

Advertising water as ‘organic’ is not banned in all countries. Thus in March 2013 the German Federal Court of Justice made public the grounds for its judgment of 13.09.12 that stated under what conditions the quality description ‘organic mineral water’ is permissible. However, the judgment of the court is controversial: The Freiburg lawyer Hanspeter Schmidt declares that there is no such thing as organic mineral water. He regards the issue as important, because “unless there is clarification, we’ll soon see salt described as ‘organic’ because it somehow meets the requirements drawn up by the producer himself, even though they differ only marginally from the standards that apply to competitor products.” (We reported in German)

Australian Organic have put a number of cases before the ACCC for investigation over the past years, some with success. This latest move marks a significant shift within the Commission, showing that it is taking on harder cases outside the domain of certified organic food products, which are well regulated and clearly labeled, Australian Organic reports. Australian Organic owns the most recognised certification mark in the country, Australian Certified Organic, which appears on the majority of organic goods. Products bearing the Bud logo are protected by law, and are regularly and randomly audited for compliance.
 

Australian Organic also encourages the ACCC to scrutinise the cosmetics and body care industry, which has recognised standards, but where the word ‘organic’ is still being abused and misused, placing unsuspecting consumers at risk of buying something that is not what they think it is. “There are many body care and cosmetic manufacturers going to a lot of effort to meet organic standards and become certified organic. It disadvantages them when there are also products that are labeled ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ without having the integrity that a truly certified organic product has,"  Dr Monk explains.