SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	6 Months Ended
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	Oct. 30, 2011
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. You should read these statements in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 1, 2011. The information reflects all normal recurring adjustments which we believe are necessary to present fairly the financial position and results of operations for all periods included. Smithfield Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), is the largest hog producer and pork processor in the world. We produce and market a wide variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. We conduct our operations through four reportable segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which is comprised of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments. A fifth reportable segment, the Other segment, contains the results of our former turkey production operations and our previous interest in Butterball, LLC (Butterball), which were sold in December 2010 (fiscal 2011). The three months ended October 30, 2011 correspond to the second quarter of fiscal 2012 and the three months ended October 31, 2010 correspond to the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the FASB) issued new accounting guidance on testing goodwill for impairment. The new guidance provides an entity the option to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If an entity determines that this is the case, it is required to perform the currently prescribed two-step goodwill impairment test to identify potential goodwill impairment and measure the amount of goodwill impairment loss to be recognized for that reporting unit (if any). If an entity determines, based on its qualitative assessment, that the fair value of a reporting unit more likely than not exceeds its carrying amount, the two-step goodwill impairment test is not required. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011 with early adoption permitted.

The entire disclosure for the organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure, and significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. May be provided in more than one note to the financial statements, as long as users are provided with an understanding of (1) the significant judgments and assumptions made by an enterprise in determining whether it must consolidate a VIE and/or disclose information about its involvement with a VIE, (2) the nature of restrictions on a consolidated VIE's assets reported by an enterprise in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets, (3) the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with an enterprise's involvement with the VIE, and (4) how an enterprise's involvement with the VIE affects the enterprise's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. Describes procedure if disclosures are provided in more than one note to the financial statements.

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