Debt and Financing Arrangements 2 (Details)	12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended																				12 Months Ended				3 Months Ended
	Apr. 28, 2013 USD ($)	Apr. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Jul. 29, 2012 Japanese Yen Credit Agreement due October 2012 [Member] JPY (¥)	Jul. 29, 2012 Japanese Yen Credit Agreement Due October 2015 [Member] JPY (¥)	Apr. 28, 2013 Portion of short term debt to pay off commercial paper [Member] [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 Credit agreement 1.5 Billion [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 Foreign Lines of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 1.50% U.S. Dollar Notes due March 2017 [Member]	Apr. 29, 2012 1.50% U.S. Dollar Notes due March 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 2.85% U.S. Dollar Notes Due March 2022 [Member]	Apr. 29, 2012 2.85% U.S. Dollar Notes Due March 2022 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 2.00% U.S. Dollar Notes due September 2016 [Member]	Oct. 26, 2011 2.00% U.S. Dollar Notes due September 2016 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 3.125% U.S. Dollar Notes due September 2021 [Member]	Oct. 26, 2011 3.125% U.S. Dollar Notes due September 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2011 U.S. Dollar Private Placement Notes due May 2014 — May 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2011 US Dollar Private Placement Notes Due July 2016 To July 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 6.625% U.S. Dollar Notes due July 2011 [Member]	Jul. 15, 2011 6.625% U.S. Dollar Notes due July 2011 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 6.00% U.S. Dollar Notes due March 2012 [Member]	Mar. 15, 2012 6.00% U.S. Dollar Notes due March 2012 [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 25, 2012 U.S. Dollar Remarketable Securities due December 2020 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 28, 2013 8.0% Heinz Finance Preferred Stock due July 2013 [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 29, 2012 Swap [Member] Japanese Yen Credit Agreement due October 2012 [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 29, 2012 Swap [Member] Japanese Yen Credit Agreement Due October 2015 [Member]	Jan. 25, 2012 Interest Rate Swap [Member] U.S. Dollar Remarketable Securities due December 2020 [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2011 Debt Instrument, Maturity Period, Three Years [Member] U.S. Dollar Private Placement Notes due May 2014 — May 2021 [Member]	Jul. 27, 2011 Debt Instrument, Maturity Period, Five Years [Member] U.S. Dollar Private Placement Notes due May 2014 — May 2021 [Member]	Jul. 27, 2011 Debt Instrument, Maturity Period, Five Years [Member] US Dollar Private Placement Notes Due July 2016 To July 2018 [Member]	Jul. 27, 2011 Debt Instrument, Maturity Period, Seven Years [Member] U.S. Dollar Private Placement Notes due May 2014 — May 2021 [Member]	Jul. 27, 2011 Debt Instrument, Maturity Period, Seven Years [Member] US Dollar Private Placement Notes Due July 2016 To July 2018 [Member]	Jul. 27, 2011 Debt Instrument, Maturity Period, Ten Years [Member] U.S. Dollar Private Placement Notes due May 2014 — May 2021 [Member]	Jun. 07, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount			¥ 15,000,000,000	¥ 15,000,000,000	$ 1,100,000,000	$ 1,500,000,000			$ 300,000,000		$ 300,000,000		$ 300,000,000		$ 400,000,000	$ 500,000,000	$ 100,000,000		$ 750,000,000		$ 599,631,000	$ 119,000,000
Short-term Debt	1,137,181,000	46,460,000
Short-term Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate	1.40%	5.10%
Maximum borrowing capacity						1,500,000,000	438,000,000
Interest rate on notes issued						1.28%		1.50%	1.50%	2.85%	2.85%	2.00%	2.00%	3.125%	3.125%			6.625%		6.00%		6.049%
Long-term Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate																3.48%	3.38%
Debt Instrument, Maturity Period			3 years	3 years																							3 years	5 years	5 years	7 years	7 years	10 years
Derivative, Amount of Hedged Item																								188,500,000.0
Derivative, Fixed Interest Rate																									2.22%
Notional Amount of Interest Rate Derivative Instruments Not Designated as Hedging Instruments																										119,000,000
Debt Instrument, Purchase Price Of Principal Amount, Percent																						100.00%
Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Stock Shares Issued																							3,500
Preferred stock, dividend rate, percentage																							8.00%
Preferred stock, dividend per share	$ 1.70	$ 1.70																					$ 8,000
Preferred Stock, Redemption Price Per Share																							$ 100,000
Preferred Stock total redemption price																							350,000,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Next Twelve Months	1,023,200,000.0
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Two	73,700,000.0
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Three	163,100,000.0
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Four	738,200,000.0
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Five	2,600,000.0
Amount Of Accounts Receivable Securitization Program																																	175,000,000
Receivables derecognized Under Receivable Securitization Program	158,700,000	161,800,000
Increase (decrease) in accounts receivable from securitization	(3,100,000)	132,800,000
Fair value of deferred purchase price	53,600,000	56,800,000
Increase (Decrease) in Interests Continued to be Held by Transferor, Current	$ 3,200,000	$ 117,100,000