Why Labels Are Needed

In my continuing quest to promote and instigate Informed Eating, I share a grocery story with you.

This is not my story alone.  A friend shared that she observed two women as they pondered fruit choices.  They were in the canned fruit isle and one said to the other that she would be better to buy frozen fruit over canned as it would not be in syrup, would have less calories and of course, be better for her. 

Did the friend give good advice?  It depends?  Sometimes canned fruit comes only in its natural juice and sometimes frozen fruit has added sugar.  Recall a few months ago when I was searching for frozen strawberries (because the fresh were 4- 5 dollars a quart and also prone to molding) - I kept wondering why the frozen berries had more calories per cup than the fresh ones - it took me a while to find a bag that did NOT have a syrup.  Of course, I wrote about it.

I would be very interested to find if, in general, frozen fruit was less caloric (more unadulterated) than canned fruit. 

That sounds like a fun bit of observational research which I do not have time to do right now, but it could happen.  In the meantime, the only way to know which of the options is lower in calories, fat and sugar (possibly sodium) is to read the labels.

I can say with confidence that dried fruit is always the more caloric because it like juice, is concentrated.