WESTLAKE VILLAGE, California - December 14, 2005

Dole Food Company, Inc., today announced the promotion of Benoît Galland to President, Dole Europe to succeed William F. Feeney, who earlier announced his retirement after 24 years with Dole. Mr. Galland will report directly to Richard J. Dahl, President and Chief Operating Officer of Dole.

Mr. Galland joined Dole Europe in 1991 as a Business Development Manager. In 1998, he was appointed Managing Director of the newly created Dole SA Ltd. (South Africa), a subsidiary export company of Dole Europe. Mr. Galland was named President of Dole France and Director of Imports for Dole Europe in 2002. In September 2004, he was promoted to Managing Director of Dole Europe. Prior to joining Dole, Mr. Galland worked as a commercial engineer in Venezuela. He graduated as an engineer from the Ecole Centrale de Paris and is a graduate of the MBA program at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France.

Richard Dahl, President and Chief Operating Officer stated: "Benoît's broad experience in Dole Europe's many areas of operations, as well as his vast experience in numerous businesses, make him especially well-qualified to assume his new responsibilities as President. William Feeney has built Dole Europe into a major business and a major success. We all wish him well in his retirement and thank him for his contribution. We are all supportive of Benoît leading Dole Europe to even higher levels of success."

Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2004 revenues of $5.3 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.