What's up with bananas?

I searched to see if this had already been addressed and didn't see anything, so I hope I'm not being redundant...

When I go to add a banana to my log, I see that different "brands" of bananas have different nutritional grades.  For example:

• Banana: A
• (Dole) Bananas - Fresh Fruit: B+
• (Whole Foods Market) Banana, 1 med. - Fruits: B+
• (Dole) Organic Bananas - Fresh Fruit: A-

It's certainly understandable that other forms of banana or foods that use bananas as an ingredient have different nutrition/grades (banana chips, mashed bananas, banana bread, etc.).  But I don't understand how the nutrition for the same type/size of a piece of fruit could differ enough to warrant different grades (not a huge discrepancy, but still). Has anyone else wondered about this too?  Does it happen with all types of fruit?  Does anyone have a clue to why this is the case?

That does seem really weird. The only thing I can think of is that the different brands/companies have gotten slightly different results for the food analysis of their products. Another possibility is the whole harvesting, storage, and preservation process. Most bananas (like other fruits and veggies) are picked when they are not quite ripe and are stored in specific gases to prevent them from ripening while in storage. Then, before they are shipped to a grocery store, they get a blast of ethelyne gas (signals ripening) so that they do end up looking ripe on the shelves.

So if a fruit was picked further into its ripening process, it would contain more sugars and nutrients than a fruit picked while it was more green. That's why we're often told that frozen or canned fruits and veggies are more nutritious than the fresh ones (they are picked when they are ripe and processed immediately), but with the salt used in canning, I'd think frozen is a better option.

Wow, that was a pretty big digression... but I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are so many variables with fresh produce, that it's impossible to have an exact food analysis of the piece of fruit/veggie you are eating. The rest are just kind of samples of what it could be, and your best bet is to look at them as an average of sorts.

Wow!! That is about the best answer anybody could have given. With some looking on the web i would say Aimee got it.

From the heart

Haha, I am majoring in Food Science at university, so I learn some pretty interesting stuff in class. I'm glad it came in useful 

Though that's some pretty interesting info about the banana packaging and processing - I'm pretty sure the answer to the OP's question is that certain brands don't have all the nutrients listed - for example, someone took the nutrition label from a dole banana and copied it into CC but it didn't have all the vitamins listed like the generic "banana" option. 

Wow, aimee, that makes all kinds of sense!  I'm thoroughly impressed with your knowledge, and appreciate the "digression" too.  It's definitely relevant, as well as interesting.  And thanks to nieto for the research!  lafoutloud, you have an excellent point and I'm sure that contributes too! What great answers...I really appreciate them.  Thanks!!