Westlake Village, CA - January 24, 2001

Dole Food Company, Inc. (NYSE:DOL) will issue its news release on its fourth quarter and full year 2000 results prior to the market opening on Wednesday, January 31, 2001, and will host a conference call at 1:00 p.m. (EST) to discuss the company's results. Hosting the call for the company will be David A. DeLorenzo, 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. (EST). A webcast audio replay of the conference call will also be archived through 5:00 p.m. (EST), February 7, 2001, on the company's website at www.dole.com.

Dole Food Company, Inc., with 1999 revenues of $5.1 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.