Always Improving Quality

At Camstar we always put quality first, and spare no effort to ensure our customers are supplied with the very best possible product.

A common weed encountered within the Parsley crop is Groundsel, a member of the same family as Ragwort. This family of weeds naturally contains a compound of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PA’s) which are useful to the plant to repel attacks by insects, but have also been identified as a liver toxin in humans.

During 2021 a maximum residue was established for PA’s at 4 parts per billion which equates to roughly 6 plants per hectare. Any suitable herbicides are restricted for use and present their own issues, so  to control the problem at source we make  use of our Garford hoe in combination with hand rogueing, having people regularly walk the fields to remove the weeds.

As part of our ongoing improvement plans we have installed picking lines to remove any Groundsel that could potentially  remain in the crop. These will be staffed throughout our harvesting season, on a rotational basis to ensure the welfare of our staff.

Our customers can be confident that we provide the cleanest product in the industry.