ORGANIC produce, once again, is at the centre of a row about integrity, but this time water bottlers are buying in.
Up to a dozen brands of bottled organic water will be removed from shelves, according to Biological Farmers Association organic standards committee chairman Andrew Monk.
“There should be no water claiming organic status in the market place,” he said.
Organic is internationally understood as products that arise from agricultural sources, but the term is not legislated and controlled in Australia.
As a result, producers tend to “flaunt regulations and label water as organic when technically it is impossible,” he said.
The BFA is working with all major retailers to remove bottles from shelves, and Monk said the certifying body is working with the media to pressure operators to “do the right thing.”
Organic advocate Macro Wholefoods Market executive chairman Pierce Cody rebuffed claims the issue will threaten the integrity of other organic products.
“If it is certified organic, it’s guaranteed, I would stand in a witness box and bet my family on it,” he said.
Macro stocks bottled organic water, but Cody keeps a close eye on water testing.
“They do regular checks on the water,” he said, “we are absolutely rigorous.”