ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
MGN FORT MYERS, Fla. – Best by, use by, better enjoyed by are all phrases you may see on the outside of your food followed by a date. So what do these dates mean and can you safely consume the food after the date has passed? We work to decode the truth to those dates. Busy businesswoman, wife and mom of two young girls, Sara Ryan knows how to get the job done in the kitchen. But when it comes to deciphering the labeled dates on her food, she says, it is a mixed bag. For example for things like fresh produce she told us, “I don’t even look at the date, but I do look at the lettuce. And you can tell if it gets yucky or mushy– I just toss it.” But when it comes to perishable items like her meats and dairy products, those labels mean a lot more. “I try to use it the next day [after purchasing] if possible and if I’m not, then I throw it in the freezer until I need it,” she explained. We met up with two experts at Lee Memorial Health System to ask about the importance of those labels. They brought out a mixture of items and we saw a mixture of phrases stamped before the dates. Use/Freeze by Sell by Used by Best before And some products like the yogurts did not have any of those phrases, but just had a date stamped on their packaging. Right now, the federal government does not require foods to have a standard date label or label at all, so each state has its own guidelines. “Hopefully in the future we will have some standardization of these dates so we can really understand if they are use by, best by, freeze by, who knows what they are,” said Heather Wayco, Director of the Clinical Nutrition Department at Lee Memorial Health System. Our experts say a lot those dates on the non-perishable items suggests when the product will lose its quality, but it does not mean the food is unsafe. “Something like a canned good or a pasta, those types of things, do have extended dates on them or best by dates or use by dates. That manufacturer gives us those dates because it guarantees their freshness or their nutrient value up until that date,” explained Wayco. “Now you could eat it after that date because it has little chance to go bad, but the nutrient value may be diminished as well as the quality of the food product and the taste and the texture and those kinds of things.” But it is a different story when it comes to the perishable foods like meats and dairy products. For those products, you want to pay attention to the dates and make sure to use it by that date, or soon after buying. “If you don’t use [meat products] within one to two days of buying in a store, certainly freeze it,” said Tony Harn, the Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager for Lee Memorial Health System. Freezing your meats will mean a much longer shelf life. “From a food safety standpoint, those [harmful] organisms will no longer grow and reproduce [once it is frozen]. So from a food safety standpoint, while frozen, it’s good forever as long as it’s kept frozen,” said Harn. To see what the USDA recommends on food safety and whether or not your products are still safe to eat, our experts recommend you check out the USDA’s guidelines and check out their FoodKeeper app for your phone.