New Accounting Standards

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]

New Accounting Standards

New Accounting Standards

New accounting standards that could significantly affect the company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are summarized as follows:

Issued	Description	Effective Date for Chiquita	Effect on Chiquita's Consolidated Financial Statements
July 2012	Amends the guidance on testing indefinite-lived intangible assets, other than goodwill, for impairment and permits the use of qualitative factors in determining whether it is likely that indefinite-lived intangible assets impairment exists.	Prospectively, beginning January 1, 2013; early adoption permitted.	Because the measurement of a potential impairment loss has not changed, the amended standards will not have an effect on the company's Consolidated Financial Statements upon adoption in 2013.
December 2011	Expands disclosure to include both gross and net information about instruments and transactions eligible for offsetting in the balance sheet and instruments and transactions subject to an agreement similar to a master netting arrangement.	Retrospectively, beginning January 1, 2013.	Will expand disclosure.
September 2011	Permits the use of qualitative factors in determining whether it is likely that goodwill impairment exists.	Prospectively, beginning January 1, 2012; early adoption permitted.	Because the measurement of a potential impairment loss has not changed, the amended standards will not have an effect on the company's Consolidated Financial Statements upon adoption in the fourth quarter of 2012.
June 2011	Requires components of other comprehensive income to be reported in either a single continuous statement or in two separate, but consecutive, statements of net income and other comprehensive income.	Retrospectively, beginning January 1, 2012; early adoption permitted.	See Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.
May 2011	Amends the guidance on fair value measurements and disclosures.	Prospectively, beginning January 1, 2012.	See Notes 6, 7, and 8.