WESTLAKE VILLAGE, California - August 18, 2006

Dole Fresh Vegetables, a division of Dole Food Company, Inc., today announced that there is absolutely no truth to recent stories on the internet of a current recall of DOLE® packaged salads. Dole salads are safe to eat and are produced in state of the art facilities with a priority on product safety.

In the United States, consumers purchase over 2 million bags of DOLE Salad every day. Dole is committed to bringing consumers the safest, cleanest and freshest produce available. Dole salad plants operate under a strict food safety program; the same program is used by NASA astronauts to prevent contracting food-borne illness. Dole will continue to serve as an industry leader in consumer safety and satisfaction.

"There is no current recall of any Dole products," said Marty Ordman, a spokesman for Dole Food Company. "These stories are unintentionally re-circulating year-old news of an incident that took place last year. Unfortunately, old news and inaccurate information that linger on the internet for years can be mistaken for current news and make their way into today's TV news and newspapers. Dole is proud of both our products and our commitment to consumer safety," he continued.

DOLE salads are triple-washed and packaged in bags specially designed to keep the product safe and fresh. DOLE packaged salads incorporate a Best-If-Used-By date on every bag so consumers know they are purchasing the freshest product possible.

Consumers that are interested in obtaining additional information can visit Dole Food Company on-line at: www.dole.com or call 1-800-356-3111.

Dole Food Company, Inc, with 2005 revenues of $5.9 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 foods and frozen fruit 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.