THAT triumph of marketing - the bottled water industry - has finally gone too far, with seven makers forced to drop claims that their product was "organic" while another chose to remove their brand from sale.

The manufacturers got rid of their spin under threat of enforcement action from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is cracking down on misleading "credence" claims.

The ACCC's worry is that such claims can be wrongly used to justify higher prices and create a competitive advantage.

"Organic standards acknowledge that water cannot be organic," said ACCC deputy chairwoman Delia Rickard. "Any claim that particular water is organic would therefore be misleading or deceptive."

The word "organic", in the context of food and drink, refers to agricultural products which have been farmed according to certain practices.

Because water is not an agricultural product it can't benefit from such practices so it can't be described as "organic", the ACCC said.

Brands you won't see anymore include Active Organic, Lithgow Valley Springs Organic, Nature's Best Organic, Organic Australia, Organic Falls, Organic Nature's Best and Organic Springs.

The ACCC wants consumers to get in contact if they see other "organic" water brands for sale.