Subsquent Events (Notes)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 28, 2013
Subsequent Events [Abstract]
Subsequent Events [Text Block]	Subsequent Events On October 28, 2013, Darling completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Rothsay, a division of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., a Canadian corporation (“MFI”), for approximately CAD $645 million in cash through borrowings under the Senior Secured Facilities. Rothsay has a network of five rendering plants in Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia and a biodiesel operation in Quebec, Canada. Rothsay is the leading recycler of animal by-products in Canada and provides an essential service for the efficient and environmentally responsible collecting, processing and recapture of edible and inedible by-products. These products are sold in domestic and international markets, including the U.S., Europe, Mexico and South America. Rothsay also manufactures biodiesel for domestic and international markets. On October 5, 2013, Darling and VION Holding N.V., a Dutch limited liability company ("VION"), entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (the "SPA"), pursuant to which Darling will acquire all of the shares of VION Ingredients Nederland (Holding) B.V., VION Ingredients International (Holding) B.V., and VION Ingredients Germany GmbH (collectively, the "Vion Companies") for approximately EUR 1.6 billion, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the SPA. Each of the Vion Companies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of VION. At the consummation of the contemplated transaction, the Vion Companies will directly or indirectly own all of the shares of the VION subsidiaries in VION’s Ingredients division and the interests in various operating joint ventures in VION’s Ingredients division (collectively, the "Group Companies"). The Group Companies together conduct the business of the development, production, and marketing and sale of products of animal origin (the "Ingredients Business"). Vion Ingredients is a worldwide leader in the development and production of specialty ingredients from animal origin for applications in pharmaceuticals, food, feed, pet food, fertilizer and bio-energy. Vion Ingredients’ global network of 58 facilities on five continents covers all aspects of animal byproduct processing through six brands including Ecoson (green power), Rendac (rendering/energy), Sonac (proteins, fats, edible fats and blood products), Rousselot (gelatin), CTH (natural casings), and Best Hides (hides). In connection with the SPA, on October 5, 2013, Darling received commitments pursuant to commitment letters (the "Commitments") from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("JPMorgan"), Bank of Montreal, acting under its trade name BMO Capital Markets ("BMO") and Goldman Sachs Bank USA with respect to a $1.2 billion term loan B facility and a $1.3 billion senior unsecured bridge facility, to finance the transaction. The Commitments are subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and execution of definitive documentation regarding such loans. Darling and VION have each made customary representations, warranties, and covenants in the SPA, including, among others, VION’s covenants (i) to use all reasonable efforts to cause each Group Company to conduct the Ingredients Business in the ordinary and usual course between the execution of the SPA and the closing, subject to certain exceptions, (ii) to avoid incurring any loss or making any payment under any cash pool or netting arrangement of the benefit of any party other than the Group Companies, (iii) to cause all positions under foreign exchange agreements to be unwound on customary terms by the closing, and (iv) not to solicit any of the employees of the Ingredients Business for a certain period of time. The closing is subject to the following customary conditions: (i) merger clearance from the relevant competition authorities, (ii) compliance with relevant works council and trade union procedures, and (iii) completion of the debt settlement plan and all the steps necessary to transfer the Ingredients Business to the Group Companies and carve out any other business from the Group Companies. The foregoing description of the SPA is not a complete description of all of the parties’ rights and obligations under the SPA and is qualified in its entirety by the SPA, a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 10, 2013. In November 2013, the Company entered into foreign currency exchange forward contracts to mitigate the foreign exchange rate risk of the expected acquisition price of the Vion Companies. Under the terms of the exchange contracts, the Company exchanged U.S. dollars for EUR 650.0 million at a fixed weighted average price of approximately 1.349 with a maturity date of early January 2014.

Subsequent Events

On October 28, 2013, Darling completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Rothsay, a division of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., a Canadian corporation (“MFI”), for approximately CAD $645 million in cash through borrowings under the Senior Secured Facilities. Rothsay has a network of five rendering plants in Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia and a biodiesel operation in Quebec, Canada. Rothsay is the leading recycler of animal by-products in Canada and provides an essential service for the efficient and environmentally responsible collecting, processing and recapture of edible and inedible by-products. These products are sold in domestic and international markets, including the U.S., Europe, Mexico and South America. Rothsay also manufactures biodiesel for domestic and international markets.

On October 5, 2013, Darling and VION Holding N.V., a Dutch limited liability company ("VION"), entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (the "SPA"), pursuant to which Darling will acquire all of the shares of VION Ingredients Nederland (Holding) B.V., VION Ingredients International (Holding) B.V., and VION Ingredients Germany GmbH (collectively, the "Vion Companies") for approximately EUR 1.6 billion, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the SPA. Each of the Vion Companies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of VION. At the consummation of the contemplated transaction, the Vion Companies will directly or indirectly own all of the shares of the VION subsidiaries in VION’s Ingredients division and the interests in various operating joint ventures in VION’s Ingredients division (collectively, the "Group Companies"). The Group Companies together conduct the business of the development, production, and marketing and sale of products of animal origin (the "Ingredients Business"). Vion Ingredients is a worldwide leader in the development and production of specialty ingredients from animal origin for applications in pharmaceuticals, food, feed, pet food, fertilizer and bio-energy. Vion Ingredients’ global network of 58 facilities on five continents covers all aspects of animal byproduct processing through six brands including Ecoson (green power), Rendac (rendering/energy), Sonac (proteins, fats, edible fats and blood products), Rousselot (gelatin), CTH (natural casings), and Best Hides (hides).

In connection with the SPA, on October 5, 2013, Darling received commitments pursuant to commitment letters (the "Commitments") from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("JPMorgan"), Bank of Montreal, acting under its trade name BMO Capital Markets ("BMO") and Goldman Sachs Bank USA with respect to a $1.2 billion term loan B facility and a $1.3 billion senior unsecured bridge facility, to finance the transaction. The Commitments are subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and execution of definitive documentation regarding such loans.

Darling and VION have each made customary representations, warranties, and covenants in the SPA, including, among others, VION’s covenants (i) to use all reasonable efforts to cause each Group Company to conduct the Ingredients Business in the ordinary and usual course between the execution of the SPA and the closing, subject to certain exceptions, (ii) to avoid incurring any loss or making any payment under any cash pool or netting arrangement of the benefit of any party other than the Group Companies, (iii) to cause all positions under foreign exchange agreements to be unwound on customary terms by the closing, and (iv) not to solicit any of the employees of the Ingredients Business for a certain period of time.

The closing is subject to the following customary conditions: (i) merger clearance from the relevant competition authorities, (ii) compliance with relevant works council and trade union procedures, and (iii) completion of the debt settlement plan and all the steps necessary to transfer the Ingredients Business to the Group Companies and carve out any other business from the Group Companies.

The foregoing description of the SPA is not a complete description of all of the parties’ rights and obligations under the SPA and is qualified in its entirety by the SPA, a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 10, 2013.

In November 2013, the Company entered into foreign currency exchange forward contracts to mitigate the foreign exchange rate risk of the expected acquisition price of the Vion Companies. Under the terms of the exchange contracts, the Company exchanged U.S. dollars for EUR 650.0 million at a fixed weighted average price of approximately 1.349 with a maturity date of early January 2014.