ELABORATE descriptions on restaurant menus have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Phrases such as ‘corn-fed chicken’, ‘Bowland beef’, and ‘Goosnargh duck’ are now commonplace.

The descriptions are often pretentious, but it was never suspected that many of the claims are downright lies.

Yet this is what Trading Standards have found in a major investigation.

Officers visited 41 restaurants. They discovered 32 venues to be lying on their menus.

Even claims that products were fresh or homemade were found to be incorrect.

You may think ‘so what?’ if a meal is good.

However, the words on the menu are not simply superficial descriptions. They allow the restaurant to hike the price.

For example, a standard duck costing £8 could be raised to as much as £15 if it is from Goosnargh, which is known for its quality offerings.

This means customers are being ripped off and we would not stand for it if it were any other type of product.

That is why the Trading Standards’ action is so welcome for both raising awareness of the issue and sending a warning to restaurants.

The area’s food industry now needs to clean up its act and always tell customers the truth.