Dole Food Company, Inc. Announces Carbon Neutral Project in Collaboration with Costa Rica

Dole Food Company, Inc. today announced that Standard Fruit de
Costa Rica, Dole's operating subsidiary in Costa Rica, and Fondo
Nacional de Financiamento Forestal (FONAFIFO), the National Forestry
Financing Fund and an entity of the Ministry of Environment and Energy
of Costa Rica, signed a ground breaking agreement to work together on
a project aimed at establishing a carbon neutral product supply chain
for bananas and pineapples, from their production in Costa Rica to the
markets in North America and Europe.

'Carbon neutral,' as applied to the banana and pineapple product
supply chains, means that the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted to produce,
pack, transport and distribute the fruit will be offset by mitigation
practices which increase the capture of CO2 in order to achieve a
'neutral' balance. These practices entail new, more efficient
transportation methods, changes to agricultural processes to reduce
CO2 emissions, and partnering with local farmers to implement
preservation and reforestation programs.

David A. DeLorenzo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dole
Food Company, Inc., stated, "The environment is a concern for all of
us. Companies, consumers, governments and non-governmental
organizations should endeavor to promote and adopt new production and
distribution methods and consumption behavior in order to reverse
harmful trends to the environment. As the world's largest producer and
distributor of fruits and vegetables, Dole is determined to take the
lead in its sector and the agreement with FONAFIFO is a good starting
point."

Roberto Dobles, PhD., Minister of the Environment and Energy of
Costa Rica, stated, "Dole is such an important company in the
production of bananas and pineapples on a global level that we are
very enthusiastic that Standard Fruit made the decision to strive to
become a carbon neutral company here in Costa Rica and join our
efforts to become the first carbon neutral country in the world by
2021. With this agreement, Dole demonstrates its enormous capacity to
innovate and develop processes that will be reflected in benefits to
the environment. I hope that this initiative will be followed by
others in the private sector, so that we may unite efforts in favor of
the environment."

Sylvain Cuperlier, Vice President, Director of Worldwide Corporate
Social Responsibility of Dole Food Company, Inc., stated, "Dole has
long been recognized for its environmental programs. Today, we want to
utilize the Company's environmental management systems and our staff's
expertise to produce and market 'carbon neutral' bananas and
pineapples. To this end, we want to pull together all resources
available within our Company and partner further with recognized
organizations. Dole's achievements in this area will come from working
relationships with our employees, independent producers, labor
representatives, government, academia, NGOs, customers, and
suppliers."

Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2006 revenues of $6.2 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 and frozen foods 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.