Among the worst offenders in the inquiry was a restaurant that claimed to have cooked dishes with fresh mozzarella but actually used economy cheddar while another outlet advertised ‘home-made pies’ which were really purchased from a nationwide wholesaler.

Suffolk County Council has now established a hotline for customers suspicious about the authenticity of menus and produce lists.

After 30 of the 180 outlets investigated were found to be overcharging due to erroneous claims about their food, the council has also issued official warnings that prosecutions could be brought if the advertising persists when follow-up checks are made next month.

Roger Mortlock, deputy director of organic foods watchdog the Soil Association, said: ‘Consumers buying organic food off the shelf in shops and supermarkets can now be reasonably sure that it is fairly labelled, but restaurants and pubs are the places where we see many of the real abuses of public trust.

‘In many cases, food is described as being fresh when in fact it has just been heated up in a microwave in the pub kitchen,’ he told the Telegraph.

‘If they are also claiming that food is organic when it's not then that is shocking, because the public should be able to trust the food that they are ordering.’

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