Dole has built its reputation on its commitment to "quality, quality and quality", as proclaimed by the company founder James Drummond Dole. For us, Jim Dole's dedication to quality is still a top priority, and today the DOLE brand name stands for over 100 years of quality production.
Dole strives to grow, produce, harvest, transport, package and distribute its products in the most environmentally and socially conscious way possible.
Policies
Commitment
Dole has established strict quality control processes that are applied across our worldwide organization to ensure the fruits and vegetables we sell to consumers are fresh, wholesome, nourishing and safe to eat. All of Dole’s products are part of the Dole quality assurance programs, a Company-wide effort to provide products of the highest quality and safety.
Dole employs hundreds of quality assurance professionals around the world to inspect products. These experts provide training and implement food safety programs. Quality control systems are in place for each product carrying the DOLE brand name.
Accountability
Dole's production facilities have been audited on an annual basis by both Dole's internal corporate auditors and, on various occasions, by external auditors employed by customers or by Dole.
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| All of Dole’s products are part of the Dole quality assurance programs, a Company-wide effort to provide products of the highest quality and safety. |
Within the United States, Dole operations are required to comply with Environmental Protection Agency regulations and guidelines. For outside the United States, Dole has selected ISO 14001 as the standard for its environmental management systems. The scope of Dole's ISO 14001 certifications also includes the Company's assistance programs developed for independent suppliers. In July 1998, Dole's banana operations in Costa Rica became the first banana exporter and the first agricultural producer in the world to become ISO 14001 certified. In November 1998, a Dole affiliate in Ecuador, the Union de Bananeros Ecuatorianos S.A. (UBESA), became the first major food-crop exporter in South America to certify its environmental management system (EMS) to ISO 14001. Dole Thailand's pineapple operations and Philippines' banana and pineapple operations were certified in January 1999. Agropor Honduras was certified to ISO 14001 in May 1999 and in June 1999, Dole's Maya Division, Standard Fruit de Honduras, Standard Fruit de Nicaragua, and Standard Fruit de Guatemala were certified. Most recently certified, in December 2000, were Dole’s floral operations in Ecuador and Colombia, becoming the world’s first certified international flower growers. Dole leads the produce industry with 20 divisions in Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa certified to ISO 14001.
Numerous Dole operations have already gained ISO 9002 certification. This certification is a set of standardized requirements for a quality management system to ensure that an organization meets its customers’ quality requirements, complies with any applicable regulations, enhances customer satisfaction and strives to achieve continual improvement of its performance. Those Dole operations certified to ISO 9002 include:
July 1995, Dolefil (Philippines) - growing, processing, canning, packing and shipping of pineapples, including can and corrugated box manufacture.
November 1995, Stanfilco (Philippines) - packing and export of fresh bananas.
January 1996, COBOX (Philippines) - manufacturing of corrugated box containers.
March 1997, Dole Thailand (Prachuabkirikhan) - manufacturing of metal and plastic packing.
March 1997, Dole Thailand (Chumporn) - manufacturing of metal and plastic packing.
November 1997, Dole Terminal (Philippines) - hauling of bananas and other products from farms to vessel loading.
December 1997, Stanfilco (Philippines) - growing of bananas.
December 1997, Union de Bananeros Ecuatorianos (UBESA) (Ecuador) - purchasing, sales, receipt, warehousing and delivery of bananas.
July 1999, Panabo Plastic Plant, Inc. (Philippines) - manufacture of plastic products for banana industry and other agricultural industries' use.
October 1999, Carmen Corrugated Containers (Philippines) - manufacture of corrugated boxes.
May 2000, Procarsa (Ecuador) - design, sale and manufacturing of cardboard boxes and associated services. (ISO 9001:2000)
May 2000, Dole Fresh Fruit (Europe) - quality assurance of imported fruit.
May 2000, Cartones San Fernando (Chile) - design, sale and manufacturing of cardboard boxes. (ISO 9001:2000)
May 2000, Dolefil (Philippines) - accounting, payroll, purchasing, government services, operations analysis and grower contract.
July 2000, Stanfilco (Philippines) - financial and accounting services.
August 2000, Tropifresh (Philippines) - asparagus packing.
October 2000, C.I. Comercializadora Caribbean (Colombia) - preparation of flower bouquets.
December 2000, Standard Fruit De Honduras and Standard Fruit de Guatemala (Honduras and Guatemala) - dispatch, reception and storage of refrigerated containers.
March 2001, Everfresh Gida Tic. Ltd. (Turkey) - storage and delivery of fruit and ripening of bananas. (ISO 9001:2000)
August 2001, Union Bananiere Africaine (France) - quality inspection of agricultural and food products. (ISO 9001:2000)
November 2001, Dole Food Company, Inc. (United States) - accounting services. (ISO 9001:2000)
May 2002, AGROPOR, S.A. (Honduras) - reception, processing, classification, packing, cooling & dispatch of containerized export quality pineapples. (ISO 9001:2000)
February 2003, Energua S.A. (Honduras) - manufacture of boxes. (ISO 9001:2000)
February 2003, C.I. Tecnicas Baltime de Colombia (Colombia) - commercialization of banana, manufacturing and commercialization cardboard boxes. (ISO 9001:2000)
March 2003, Estibadora del Caribe (Costa Rica) - stevedoring operations.
May 2003, DECAR (Costa Rica) - manufacture of corrugated boxes. (ISO 9001:2000)
November 2003, NAPORTEC (Ecuador) - maintenance and repair of containers and other equipment, renting of multi-modal equipment, transport, storage, docking and port services. (ISO 9001:2000)
February 2004, Serteba (Colombia) - reception, storage and refrigeration of fruit, and loading on ship. (ISO 9001:2000)
Dole was among the first producer/processor to enter into a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) protocol with the FDA to apply HACCP to the fresh-cut produce industry.
 Click here to download a complete list of Dole's ISO certifications in Adobe Acrobat format
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