Financing (Details Textuals) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended									12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended									3 Months Ended
	Nov. 20, 2010	Aug. 27, 2011	Aug. 28, 2010	Aug. 29, 2009	Sep. 13, 2011	Aug. 27, 2011 Capital Lease Obligations [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 Commercial paper, weighted average interest rate of 0.4% at August 27, 2011, and 0.4% at August 28, 2010 [Member]	Aug. 28, 2010 Commercial paper, weighted average interest rate of 0.4% at August 27, 2011, and 0.4% at August 28, 2010 [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 Letter of Credit [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 Letter of Credit [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 Revolving credit facility, which was scheduled to expire in July 2012 [Member]	Sep. 13, 2011 Revolving credit facility, which was scheduled to expire in July 2012 [Member]	Nov. 20, 2010 4.750% Senior Notes due November 2010, effective interest rate of 4.17% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 4.750% Senior Notes due November 2010, effective interest rate of 4.17% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 5.875% Senior Notes due October 2012, effective interest rate of 6.33% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 4.375% Senior Notes due June 2013, effective interest rate of 5.65% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 6.500% Senior Notes due January 2014, effective interest rate of 6.63% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 5.750% Senior Notes due January 2015, effective interest rate of 5.89% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 5.500% Senior Notes due November 2015, effective interest rate of 4.86% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 6.950% Senior Notes due June 2016, effective interest rate of 7.09% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 7.125% Senior Notes due August 2018, effective interest rate of 7.28% [Member]	Nov. 20, 2010 4.000% Senior Notes due November 2020, effective interest rate of 4.43% [Member]	Aug. 27, 2011 4.000% Senior Notes due November 2020, effective interest rate of 4.43% [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commercial paper borrowings, maturity period (in months)							12 months
Stated interest rate percentage														4.75%	5.875%	4.375%	6.50%	5.75%	5.50%	6.95%	7.125%		4.00%
Amount available under credit facility		$ 1,000,000,000			$ 1,000,000,000							$ 800,000,000
Expiration of credit facility		September 2016	June 2013								July 2012
Effective interest rate														4.17%	6.33%	5.65%	6.63%	5.89%	4.86%	7.09%	7.28%		4.43%
Letter of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity					1,250,000,000	175,000,000			200,000,000	100,000,000
Letter of credit outstanding									92,900,000
Weighted average interest rate of commercial paper							0.40%	0.40%
Proceeds from issuance of debt	500,000,000	500,000,000		500,000,000									199,300,000									500,000,000
Financing (Textuals) [Abstract]
Remaining borrowing capacity under revolving credit facility		996,600,000
Short-term borrowings		34,082,000	26,186,000
Interest rate on short-term borrowings		4.85%
Interest accrual on foreign currency loans the basis points		Interest accrues on Eurodollar loans at a defined Eurodollar rate, defined as LIBOR plus the applicable percentage, as defined in the revolving credit facility, depending upon the Company’s senior, unsecured, (non-credit enhanced) long-term debt rating.
Line of credit facility covenant terms		The revolving credit facility agreement requires that the Company’s consolidated interest coverage ratio as of the last day of each quarter shall be no less than 2.50:1. This ratio is defined as the ratio of (i) consolidated earnings before interest, taxes and rents to (ii) consolidated interest expense plus consolidated rents. The Company’s consolidated interest coverage ratio as of August 27, 2011
Interest coverage ratio		4.44%
Fair value of the Company's debt		3,633,000,000	3,182,000,000
Excess (shortfall) of fair value of debt over (from) carrying value		$ 281,000,000	$ 273,500,000