Dole Food Company, Inc. Announces Labor and Environmental Accord with Coordinator of Banana Unions of Costa Rica (COSIBA)

Standard Fruit Company of Costa Rica, Inc. a division of Dole Food
Company, Inc. and the Coordinator of Banana Unions of Costa Rica
(COSIBA) announced today an agreement that reaffirms Dole's commitment
to labor, strengthens mutual trust between parties and furthers the
company's long standing commitment to sound environmental practices.

"This event is another step forward in our commitment as a good
citizen of Costa Rica," said Danilo Roman, general manger, Standard
Fruit Company of Costa Rica. "This agreement between Dole and COSIBA
further demonstrates our company's commitment to corporate and social
responsibility, transparency and open communication among parties."

"For COSIBA-CR and COLSIBA, the signing of this framework
agreement with Dole in Costa Rica represents an opportunity to
continue improving the mutually beneficial relationship between the
parties, for the benefit of the workers and that of the country," said
Gilberth Bermudez Umana of COSIBA. "It gives us the opportunity to
build trust, as well as take advantage of the opportunities that
globalization offers in the present international economic context."

The new agreement was ratified by Standard Fruit Company of Costa
Rica, Inc. a division of Dole Food Company, Inc. and COSIBA on
Tuesday, March 27, 2007, in San Jose, Costa Rica. Signatories included
Jorge Luis Viquez Mendez, Juan Carlos Rojas Zeledon and Danilo Roman
of Standard Fruit Company of Costa Rica, and Ramon Barrantes Cascante,
Gilberth Bermudez Umana, Jorge Luis Barboza Jimenez, and Rene Garcia
Miranda of COSIBA. Observers included: Sue Hagen, Dole Food Company,
Inc., German Zepeda, COLSIBA and Magne Svartbekk of Bama.

Conditions of the newly reached agreement include:

-- Dole and COSIBA reaffirmed their commitment to resolve
disputes quickly and adopt established protocols for the sake
of not affecting the mutual interests cited in this agreement.

-- Dole and COSIBA will support a continuous open dialogue, which
includes developing a member committee to ensure the terms of
the agreement are met.

-- Dole will maintain its neutral position with respect to the
decision of its workers to organize and belong to an
organization of their preference.

-- The agreement establishes best practices protocol for
investigating labor-related claims focusing on independent
farms.

-- Dole will continue to strengthen its already robust, long
standing commitment to comply with local and international
environmental legislation that governs its operations in Costa
Rica. In addition, Dole considers it a priority to focus on
the following programs: liquid and solid waste management,
management of agrochemicals and all potentially hazardous
substances, as well as protection of water and forests.

Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2005 revenues of $5.9 billion, is
the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit,
fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of
packaged foods and frozen fruit and is a produce industry leader in
nutrition education and research.

This release contains "forward-looking statements," within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward looking
statements, which are based on management's current expectations, are
generally identifiable by the use of terms such as "may," "will,"
"expects," "believes," "intends" and similar expressions. The
potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied herein include
weather-related phenomena; market responses to industry volume
pressures; product and raw materials supplies and pricing; changes in
interest and currency exchange rates; economic crises and security
risks in developing countries; international conflict; and quotas,
tariffs and other governmental actions. Further information on the
factors that could affect Dole's financial results is included in its
SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K.