Dole Fresh Vegetables received "excellent" ratings for manufacturing quality practices at all three plants, located in Soledad, California, Springfield, Ohio and Yuma, Arizona, from independent auditor, Silliker. "Excellent" is the highest rating possible in the six categories - food safety systems, grounds, building and equipment, plant sanitation and pest control and receiving, storage, processing and shipping. Silliker is the leading international network of accredited testing laboratories serving the food processing, retail, and food service industries.

Dole Food Company is involved in a number of national foodservice-related associations and programs including the School Nutrition Association (SNA), the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the Cool School Caf? Marketing Alliance.

Dole is the only produce industry Patron sponsor of SNA. Dole Foodservice sales force members work with SNA members in school districts around the country to increase the availability and variety of fruits and vegetables in school breakfast and school lunch programs.

Dole is a founding member and leading produce industry supporter of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, a non-profit consumer education foundation that promotes increased consumption of fruits and vegetables among all consumers. Dole is one of six industry sponsors of the 5 A Day Foodservice Summit, an annual invitation-only event that brings together fruit and vegetable industry representatives with marketers and menu developers from national restaurant chains. With a heavy emphasis on research, the Summit looks at ways of addressing consumers' growing demand for high quality fruits and vegetables within foodservice operations.

The Cool School Caf? Marketing Alliance (CSCMA) is a group of dedicated foodservice manufacturers who have teamed up to give School Foodservice Directors the opportunity to earn FREE marketing and merchandising materials when they make qualifying purchases. To see which Dole foodservice products qualify for Cool School points, please visit www.coolschoolcafe.com.

Dole Fresh Vegetables was the only fresh-cut salad processor to partner with the United States Food and Drug Administration to investigate new industry-wide programs to further enhance the safety and quality of fresh cut salads. Click here for more information.