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Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Document And Entity Information (USD $)	Oct. 01, 2011	Oct. 29, 2011 Common Class A [Member]	Apr. 02, 2011 Common Class A [Member]	Oct. 29, 2011 Common Class B [Member]	Apr. 02, 2011 Common Class B [Member]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Oct. 01, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	TYSON FOODS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000100493
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-01
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		299,769,152		70,020,855
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 5,872,066,221		$ 408,715