v2.4.0.8

Bank indebtedness and Long-Term Debt (Narrative) (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified			5 Months Ended	7 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	7 Months Ended						0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended					1 Months Ended	11 Months Ended			9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended							7 Months Ended	12 Months Ended								1 Months Ended	7 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	4 Months Ended
	Dec. 28, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 USD ($)	May 18, 2012 Opta Minerals Inc [Member]	Jul. 24, 2012 Opta Minerals Inc [Member]	Dec. 28, 2013 Opta Minerals Inc [Member]	Jul. 24, 2012 Opta Minerals Inc [Member] Cad Line Of Credit [Member]	Dec. 28, 2013 Opta Minerals Inc [Member] Maximum [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Opta Minerals Inc [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 28, 2013 Opta Minerals Inc [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 28, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 18, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Equipment [Member]	Mar. 26, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Equipment [Member] EUR (€)	Jun. 18, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Equipment [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 18, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Equipment [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 29, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Equipment [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Equipment [Member] EUR (€)	May 22, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Bulgaria [Member] EUR (€)	Apr. 30, 2014 Organic Corporation [Member] Bulgaria [Member]	Dec. 28, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Bulgaria [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Bulgaria [Member] EUR (€)	Oct. 01, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Lease [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 28, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Lease [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Lease [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 29, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Lease [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] Cocoa Lease [Member] EUR (€)	Sep. 25, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] European Revolving Credit Facility [Member] EUR (€)	Jan. 06, 2014 Organic Corporation [Member] European Revolving Credit Facility [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 28, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] European Revolving Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Organic Corporation [Member] European Revolving Credit Facility [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 29, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] European Revolving Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] European Revolving Credit Facility [Member] EUR (€)	Sep. 25, 2012 Organic Corporation [Member] Pre Settlement Facility [Member] EUR (€)	Jul. 27, 2012 Syndicate Lending Group [Member]	Dec. 28, 2013 Syndicate Lending Group [Member]	Jul. 27, 2012 Syndicate Lending Group [Member] Cad Line Of Credit [Member] CAD	Dec. 28, 2013 Syndicate Lending Group [Member] U S Line Of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Syndicate Lending Group [Member] U S Line Of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2012 Syndicate Lending Group [Member] U S Line Of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2012 Syndicate Lending Group [Member] Accordion Option [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Syndicate Lending Group [Member] Maximum [Member] U S Line Of Credit [Member]	Dec. 28, 2013 Syndicate Lending Group [Member] Minimum [Member] U S Line Of Credit [Member]	Nov. 22, 2013 Non Revolving Term Credit Facility [Member] Opta Minerals Inc [Member]	Jul. 24, 2012 Non Revolving Term Credit Facility [Member] Opta Minerals Inc [Member] CAD	Oct. 31, 2013 Revolving Acquisition Facility [Member] Opta Minerals Inc [Member] Cad Line Of Credit [Member]	Apr. 30, 2013 Revolving Acquisition Facility [Member] Opta Minerals Inc [Member] Cad Line Of Credit [Member] CAD	Jul. 24, 2012 Revolving Acquisition Facility [Member] Opta Minerals Inc [Member] Cad Line Of Credit [Member] CAD	Sep. 25, 2012 Revolving Acquisition Facility [Member] Organic Corporation [Member] Maximum [Member]	Sep. 25, 2012 Revolving Acquisition Facility [Member] Organic Corporation [Member] Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date			May 18, 2012	Jul. 24, 2012									Mar. 26, 2012					May 22, 2013				Oct. 01, 2012					Sep. 25, 2012							Jul. 27, 2012									Nov. 22, 2013		Oct. 31, 2013	Apr. 30, 2013
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity													€ 4,990					€ 4,500									€ 45,000	€ 51,000					€ 3,000			10,000			$ 165,000	$ 50,000				52,500		20,000	15,000
Debt Instrument Variable Rate Portion																											0.17%
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date												Jul. 18, 2013							Apr. 30, 2014			Oct. 01, 2019													Jul. 27, 2016											Aug. 14, 2014
Line Of Credit Facility Collateral						The credit facilities are collateralized by a first priority security interest on substantially all of the assets of Opta Minerals, and are without recourse to SunOpta Inc.																												The facilities are collateralized by substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries, excluding Opta Minerals and The Organic Corporation (“TOC”).
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding	141,853	131,061								61,892	44,611			6,495	4,990	4,616	3,493			3,276	2,385		5,829	4,242	6,403	4,845			58,616	42,661	39,995	30,262					64,382	75,700
Debt Instrument, Frequency of Periodic Payment																																												quarterly
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment, Principal																						73																						1,312
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate							5.00%	3.50%	2.00%																																2.50%	1.75%						1.85%	1.75%
Debt Instrument, Description of Variable Rate Basis					LIBOR																														LIBOR
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate					5.52%								3.80%																						2.17%
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date																																												May 18, 2017
Line Of Credit Facility Interest Rate During Period																		2.75%				5.90%
Capital Lease Obligations	$ 6,444	$ 7,219																				€ 4,990

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- Definition

The variable portion of an interest on a debt instrument based on a reference rate such as LIBOR, Prime, Euribor, etc...

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Amount equal to the present value (the principal) at the beginning of the lease term of minimum lease payments during the lease term (excluding that portion of the payments representing executory costs such as insurance, maintenance, and taxes to be paid by the lessor, together with any profit thereon) net of payments or other amounts applied to the principal through the balance sheet date.

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The percentage points added to the reference rate to compute the variable rate on the debt instrument.

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The reference rate for the variable rate of the debt instrument, such as LIBOR or the US Treasury rate and the maturity of the reference rate used, such as three months or six months LIBOR.

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Description of the frequency of periodic payments (monthly, quarterly, annual).

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- Definition

Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

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Amount of the required periodic payments applied to principal.

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- Definition

Reflects the calculation as of the balance sheet date of the average interest rate weighted by the amount of debt outstanding by type or by instrument at that time.

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Amount borrowed under the credit facility as of the balance sheet date.

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Discussion of whether the borrowings under the credit facility are secured or unsecured and, if secured, a description of collateral (for example, accounts receivable less than 120 days old, finished goods inventory).

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Date the credit facility terminates, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

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Date the credit facility first became available, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

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The effective interest rate during the reporting period.

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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