Nutritional value of canned peaches

I've been looking at nutrition labels on canned fruits.  I've been very surprised to find that our favorite canned fruits such as peaches have much lower levels of vitamins than I had assumed.

I've been told and have read articles claiming that the nutritional value of fresh and canned fruits is comparable.  My understanding was that once fruits were canned that they did not lose their nutritional value as the decomposition process had been stopped until the can was opened.  Further, that fresh fruits immediately start losing their nutritional value as soon as they are picked.  Therefore, canned fruit could potentially have more nutritional value than what you bought at the grocery store depending on whether the fruit was canned promptly after picking and how long ago the fresh fruit was picked.

I am not an expert in nutrition, but I found that the nutritional values of actual canned fruit product from Del Monte, Libby's, and common store brands to list Vitamin A and Vitamin C in the 2-8% range.

Interestingly, I couldn't find a canned peach product for Dole; however, their "All Natural Peach in a Plastic Jar" product was consistent with the prevailing opinion that nutritional values of processed fruit can be comparable to fresh produce.  Del Monte's jarred fruit such as "Orchard Select Sliced Peaches" were also comparable in nutritional value to fresh fruit.

Until I find a canned peach product that lists nutritional information comparable to the fresh, I'll likely switch to the jarred variety. I'll definitely read my canned fruit labels more closely from now on.

All images are courtesy of Dole's website.

Fresh Peach

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 large peach (147g)

• Amount Per Serving
• Calories 60Calories from Fat 0
• % Daily Value *
• Total Fat 0g0%
• Saturated Fat 0g0%
• Trans Fat 0g0%
• Cholesterol 0mg0%
• Sodium 0mg0%
• Potassium 0mg0%
• Total Carbohydrate 14g0%
• Dietary Fiber 2g8%
• Sugars 12g
• Protein 1g
• Vitamin A 10%

  Vitamin C 15%

  Calcium 0%

  Iron 2%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories:	2,000	2,500
Total Fat	Less than	65g	80g
Saturated Fat	Less than	20g	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg	2,400mg
Potassium		3,500mg	3,500mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g	375g
Dietary Fiber		25g	30g

Frozen Sliced Peaches

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 3/4 cup (140g)

• Amount Per Serving
• Calories 50Calories from Fat 0
• % Daily Value *
• Total Fat 0g0%
• Saturated Fat 0g0%
• Trans Fat 0g0%
• Cholesterol 0mg0%
• Sodium 0mg0%
• Potassium 0mg0%
• Total Carbohydrate 13g0%
• Dietary Fiber 1g4%
• Sugars 10g
• Protein 1g
• Vitamin A 25%

  Vitamin C 230%

  Calcium 0%

  Iron 2%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories:	2,000	2,500
Total Fat	Less than	65g	80g
Saturated Fat	Less than	20g	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg	2,400mg
Potassium		3,500mg	3,500mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g	375g
Dietary Fiber		25g	30g

Sliced Peaches in a Plastic Jar

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1/2 cup (22g)

• Amount Per Serving
• Calories 80Calories from Fat 0
• % Daily Value *
• Total Fat 0g0%
• Saturated Fat 0g0%
• Trans Fat 0g0%
• Cholesterol 0mg0%
• Sodium 10mg0%
• Potassium 95mg3%
• Total Carbohydrate 19g6%
• Dietary Fiber <1g4%
• Sugars 18g
• Protein <1g
• Vitamin A 4%

  Vitamin C 70%

  Calcium 0%

  Iron 2%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories:	2,000	2,500
Total Fat	Less than	65g	80g
Saturated Fat	Less than	20g	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg	2,400mg
Potassium		3,500mg	3,500mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g	375g
Dietary Fiber		25g	30g