The Nutritional Difference Between Fresh Fruit & Packaged Fruit

Fresh, raw fruit is packed with vitamins and antioxidants, but it isn’t always convenient or even possible to keep it or carry it around. Buying fresh fruit in season is the best way to ensure food quality and support local growers, but in most parts of the country you are out of luck if you want fresh figs in December. Knowing how packaged fruit is processed helps you choose the best dried fruits and healthy packaged fruits.

Fresh Fruit

Fresh fruit is your best choice if you are trying to maintain a healthier diet. Fresh fruit is low in calories and high in fiber and nutrients, and most kinds contain water to help keep you hydrated. Except for berries, fruit even comes in its own wrapper. A typical serving of fruit -- ½ cup of fresh pineapple -- contains about 50 calories, 1 mg of sodium, 1 percent of your daily requirement for vitamin A and 80 percent of your requirement for vitamin C.

Dried Fruit

Dried fruit is fresh fruit that has had the majority of its water removed. This can be done commercially, but you can also do it at home with a home dehydrator, a slow oven or by treating the fruit and leaving it out in the sun. Dried fruits are more dense than fresh fruit, so they have more calories per ounce. Many dried fruits have added sugar, so read the label to make sure you know what you’re getting. A 1 oz serving of dried pineapple contains 80 calories, which means that ½ c has 240 calories.

Frozen Fruit

Frozen fruit is excellent for use in smoothies because it keeps the liquid cold without diluting it. Not all fruit freezes well, but berries, mangoes and pineapple keep most of their texture and flavor when frozen, though strawberries can get mushy when thawed. Most commercially frozen fruit is frozen without additives of any kind. A ½ cup serving of sweetened, frozen pineapple contains 86 calories, 2 mg of sodium, 1 percent of your vitamin A requirement and only 13 percent of vitamin C, which is more calories and salt than in fresh, with less vitamin C.

Canned Fruit

Canned fruit is always packed in some sort of liquid to keep it fresh. This can be fruit juice, corn syrup, water or any combination of the three. Canned fruits also often contain food coloring and other additives. A ½ cup serving of pineapple canned in water has 32 calories, the same amount of sodium as fresh pineapple, the same amount of vitamin A, but only 13 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin C.