Many of the butchers selling the premium product are no wiser than their customers but are happy to spin ill-informed yarns, according to a survey by the consumer advocacy group Choice.

In metropolitan Sydney and Melbourne, more than half the 29 surveyed butchers claiming to sell organic beef were unable to verify their claims or were ignorant of the certification bodies authorised to guarantee a product’s organic status.

Some butchers even believed the beef they were selling as organic was certified by the RSPCA.

Only 11 butchers were able to provide coherent information on which certifier they relied on to prove the beef they were selling was organic.

There are only seven bodies authorised by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to certify organic produce, and none are in NSW.

Given the retail value of the Australian organic market was more than $600 million last year, with some sectors growing by as much as 30 per cent a year, the level of ignorance among organic beef retailers was disturbing, said Choice’s spokesman, Christopher Zinn.

"About two-thirds weren't necessarily passing on accurate information. It hardly helps consumer confidence in this growing market," he said.

To obtain certification, growers must show their produce is free of hormones, antibiotics, pesticide and herbicide and not genetically modified – and, in the case of meat, that the animal is free to roam.

Unlike meat intended for the export market, however, certification for domestic products claiming to be organic is not mandatory.

Standards Australia is developing a standard for organic products but it will not be mandatory once introduced.

However, the standard will make it easier for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to take action against retailers and suppliers making misleading or deceptive organic claims.

Until then, the best indicator of authenticity without a certifier's logo is the price, Choice said.