With cyclosporiasis cases rising, Atlanta farmers and consumers try to reduce their risk

The cyclospora parasite that health officials say causes extreme diarrhea, fatigue, and intense stomach cramps continues to cause cases of cyclosporiasis across the United States.

A metro Atlanta farmer is weighing in on how their meticulous means of harvesting reduces the risk of contamination.

Eliyahu Ben Asa, owner of Atlanta Harvest in Ellenwood, has been in the business of farming since 2010. His popular, Black-owned local farm and grocery store supplies the community with locally, organically grown produce and other fresh items.

While speaking with CBS News Atlanta, he said he ensures that his entire staff and process tightly follow USDA rules and standards to help prevent contamination.

"We've been very protected from anything that's been going around," Ben Asa said. "Because the food is coming directly from the farm and going to a person's home, in a person's bag and on their table. It's so direct that there's no chance for contamination. Everything is so community-minded, because the food goes from our hands to the community's plate. Everything here is natural. There's no making up for what it lacks with a chemical. There's no applying things that were made in a lab here."

Many people who were at Atlanta Harvest spoke to the high quality of produce offered there, and expressed their concerns about choosing to buy produce locally versus going to a major retailer.

Ben Asa said the process that some major distributors use to get foods to consumers can cause food not to be fresh or leave room for other potential issues, compared to the local level.

"The difference is that many of the contracts they have for the people producing the foods are coming from thousands and thousands of miles away. Then they would harvest it in one state to drive to another state to a facility where they can do distribution, then bring it down to the state where they want it to go to the store," he said. "Then by the time it gets to the store, it has to sit on the shelf. Then you pick it up and bring it home. Then what do you do with it? More than likely you put it in your fridge, and so from the time that it's harvested to the time that you eat it, you're looking at what could be a week or over a week."

Ben Asa said it also comes down to caring deeply about the soil and doing everything possible to ensure the consumer gets fresh, uncontaminated food.

Jodie Guest, a professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, said the illness is commonly seen in leafy greens, berries, and some herbs.

"Across the United States we'd normally expect to see a little over 2,000 cases from cyclospora a year," Guest said. "The estimate with an undercount is expected to be well over 5,000 cases right now."

Guest said washing and freezing foods contaminated with the parasite will not get rid of it. She said it's best to ensure that all leafy greens, fruits and vegetables are cooked to at least 158 degrees or stick to fruits with hard skin that you can peel.

She said if you have fruit that was already previously frozen, it should be ok to consume.