Westlalke Village, California - April 12, 2001

Dole Food Company, Inc. (NYSE:DOL) will issue its news release on its first quarter 2001 results prior to the market opening on Thursday, April 19, 2001, and will host a conference call at 1:00 p.m. (EDT) to discuss the company's results. Hosting the call for the company will be Lawrence A. Kern, president and chief operating officer, and Kenneth J. Kay, vice president and chief financial officer.

The conference call will be webcast live and may be accessed on the company's website at www.dole.com. The call will begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. (EDT). A webcast audio replay of the conference call will also be archived through 5:00 p.m. (EDT), April 30, 2001, on the company's website at www.dole.com.

Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2000 revenues of $4.8 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers, and markets a growing line of packaged foods.