Maricopa County health inspector offers advice on how to keep guests from getting sick from Thanksgiving dinner

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Ryan and Sarah Hubbell prepare Thanksgiving dinner for friends and family every year, with a little help from their kids. This year is no different, except for the fact Arizona’s Family invited a Maricopa County health inspector over to see if the Phoenix family is following good health practices in the kitchen.

“I think it’s super important for Thanksgiving like it is for any meal,” said Sarah. “We want to make sure everybody enjoys the meal and stays healthy.” The Hubbells are like a lot of Arizona families doing prep work, getting ready to host a big Thanksgiving dinner.

Health Inspector Basel Shaban said, just like in a restaurant, it’s important that home cooks do things the right way to prevent their guests from getting any foodborne illnesses. According to Shaban, the biggest mistakes people make are not washing hands between tasks, not cooking the turkey long enough, and touching ready-to-eat foods after handling raw meat.

“You want to make sure you are not using the same cutting board for different items, whether you start off using it for turkey, beef or pork and then decide you want to cut up salad after,” said Shaban. “You want to make sure you are washing that cutting board, or switching it out for something you know is clean.”

The health inspector also gave Ryan a heads-up to use a separate towel while prepping the turkey. “Because I am the one handling raw meat, having my own towel available to dry my hands, with a separate towel anyone else is using, is a good tip,” said Ryan. “I will take that forward with me.”

Another mistake people make is how people store food in the fridge. No raw meat on top of ready-to-eat foods. It’s also important to keep foods cold and not let them sit out for long periods of time, said Shaban

So, how did the Phoenix couple do with its surprise health inspection? Lots of attention to detail and keeping things clean, said Shaban, and no major health code violations.“When that kind of mindset is in place, you know there is low risk of someone getting sick come Thanksgiving,” said Shaban. “If they’re one of my restaurants, that would get an easy A.”

Here are the recommendations from county health inspectors this Thanksgiving.