Acquisitions (Details Textual) (USD $)	6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2011	Oct. 18, 2011	Oct. 31, 2012 Rowland Coffee Roasters, Inc. [Member]	May 16, 2011 Rowland Coffee Roasters, Inc. [Member]	Oct. 31, 2012 Rowland Coffee Roasters, Inc. [Member] Customer Relationships [Member] Y	Oct. 31, 2012 Rowland Coffee Roasters, Inc. [Member] Finite-Lived Trademarks [Member] Y	May 16, 2011 Rowland Coffee Roasters, Inc. [Member] U.S. Retail Coffee [Member]	May 16, 2011 Rowland Coffee Roasters, Inc. [Member] International, Foodservice, and Natural Foods [Member]	Oct. 31, 2012 Sara Lee Corporation [Member] Y	Jan. 03, 2012 Sara Lee Corporation [Member]	Oct. 31, 2012 Sara Lee Corporation [Member] Customer Relationships [Member] Y	Oct. 31, 2012 Sara Lee Corporation [Member] Technology [Member] Y	Oct. 31, 2012 Sara Lee Corporation [Member] Finite-Lived Trademarks [Member] Y
Acquisitions (Textual) [Abstract]
Cost of acquired entity				$ 362,800,000						$ 420,600,000
Borrowings under revolving credit facility				180,000,000
One-time costs directly related to merger and integration			11,900,000						22,600,000
Noncash acquisition expenses			5,300,000
One time costs related to the acquisition estimated			25,000,000						25,000,000
Noncash charges estimated			10,000,000
Goodwill assigned to the U.S. Retail Coffee and International, Foodservice and Natural Food segments				91,675,000			84,800,000	6,900,000		149,948,000
Weighted-average useful life of the finite-lived intangible assets					19	10					10	10	6
Goodwill deductible for tax purposes				85,600,000						138,500,000
Additional purchase price included in other current liabilities and other noncurrent liabilities										50,000,000
Time period over which additional liability will be paid									10
Present value of additional purchase price included in other current liabilities and other noncurrent liabilities										45,000,000
Payments for acquisition										375,600,000
Business acquisition purchase price payment included in other - net financing activities									10,000,000
Estimated minimum future decrease in net sales									(75,000,000)
Estimated maximum future decrease in net sales									(100,000,000)
Acquisitions (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Expected consolidated net sales	$ 2,900,000,000
Percentage of notes		3.50%