Salinas, Califoronia - August 09, 2005

Dole Fresh Vegetables, a division of Dole Food Company, Inc., today announced that it has established procedures for job applicants to submit resumes for positions at its Gaston County, North Carolina plant. The Company emphasized that all resumes and inquiries must go through the Internet. Hiring is not expected to begin until late 2006, at the earliest. More detailed job descriptions will be available at that time.

To submit a resume, visit Dole's website at www.Dole.com and scroll to Careers and click on "View Current Openings", then select "All U.S. Locations", look for "DFV- North Carolina Plant", click on "Search", click on "North Carolina Plant, Gaston County. Scroll to the bottom of the page, click on "Submit Resume" and follow instructions for submitting a resume.

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; electrical power supply 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.