In its second quarter results, the company said operating income was $34.3m (€25m), compared to $45.4m (€33m) in the same quarter of 2006.

This was due to the higher raw product and food safety costs in the salads and healthy snacks segment, Chiquita said.

"We are not satisfied with out second quarter results," said Chiquita's chief executive officer Fernando Aguirre. "We are taking aggressive actions to address continuing challenging market conditions and expect to reverse the recent trend."

Operating income was $13m within the salads and healthy snacks segment, compared to $19m in the same quarter in 2006, a decline of 28.1 per cent.

Operating margins for the segment were down 1.6 per cent to 4 per cent for the quarter.

However, net sales were up 2 per cent to $333m for the segment.

Net sales for the company were up by 2.2 per cent on the same quarter last year to $1.2bn. Chiquita said this was due to increased sales of bananas in European trading markets, particularly due to its presence in Turkey.

Net sales for the banana segment increased 3 per cent to $528m, and operating income was up $4m to $44m from last year.

Sales volume within North America rose 4.8 per cent, however decreased by 3.5 per cent within the European core markets, and declined 15.1 per cent within Asia and the Middle East, the company said.

"We remain confident in our strategy to generate sustainable, profitable growth by delivering innovative, higher-margin products and building a high-performance organisation," Aguirre said.

Chiquita operates in over 70 countries worldwide, and is involved in marketing and distributing fresh and healthy foods and snacks. Revenues are about $4.3bn a year, the company said.