Dole's Bananas Go Organic

As of February 1, Dole Food Company Inc. joins Chiquita Brands in selling certified organic bananas. They will first be available on the West Coast and over the next few months, be offered throughout North America. Dole is the world’s largest producer of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Marta Maitles, director of communications, remarks, “We’ve been researching organic bananas for years. There’s been such an increase in the organic market that we knew there was a place for us.” Certified organic farms in Ecuador and Honduras will grow the bananas. All of Dole’s banana farms in Latin America and Asia have ISO 14001 certification.

Bananas constitute about 10 percent of retail store produce sales, making it a key product. Dole also offers pre-washed and pre-cut organic salad and transitional apples. The company is researching organic pineapples.

Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, says, “I think we’ll see it come in bits and pieces, but mainstreaming organic is a reality.”

In November, 2000, Chiquita Brands International was awarded Better Banana certification for all its 127 company-owned banana farms in Latin America. It is the only global banana company to meet the stringent, environmental and social standards of the Rainforest Alliances Better Banana Project. The certified Chiquita bananas equal 15 percent of the total exported bananas from Latin America. Today, certified bananas make up over 90 percent of Chiquitas total volume to Europe and about two-thirds of the volume to North America.

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