BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)	3 Months Ended
BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)	Jul. 31, 2011
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Reportable Segments	Smithfield Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), is the largest hog producer and pork processor in the world. We produce and market a wide variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. We conduct our operations through four reportable segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which is comprised of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments. A fifth reportable segment, the Other segment, contains the results of our former turkey production operations and our previous interest in Butterball, LLC (Butterball), which were sold in December 2010 (fiscal 2011).
Fiscal Period	Unless otherwise stated, the amounts presented in these notes to our consolidated condensed financial statements are based on continuing operations for all fiscal periods included. The three months ended July 31, 2011 correspond to the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and the three months ended August 1, 2010 correspond to the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Disclosure of accounting policy for determining an entity's fiscal year or other fiscal period. This disclosure may include identification of the fiscal period end-date, the length of the fiscal period, any reporting period lag between the entity and its subsidiaries, or equity investees. If a reporting lag exists, the closing date of the entity having a different period end is generally noted, along with an explanation of the necessity for using different closing dates. Any intervening events that materially affect the entity's financial position or results of operations are generally also disclosed.

+ References+ Details