General	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
General [Abstract]
General	1. General Nature of Our Business — We are a leading food and beverage company in the United States, as well as a global leader in branded plant-based beverages, such as soy, almond and coconut milks, and other plant-based food products. We align our leadership teams, operating strategies and supply chain initiatives around our three lines of business: Fresh Dairy Direct, WhiteWave-Alpro and Morningstar. Fresh Dairy Direct is the largest processor and distributor of milk and other dairy products in the United States, with products such as milk, ice cream, cultured dairy products, creamers, ice cream mix and other dairy products sold under more than 50 familiar local and regional brands and a wide array of private labels. WhiteWave-Alpro markets and sells a variety of nationally branded value-added dairy products, such as Horizon Organic^® milk; nationally branded coffee creamers and beverages, including International Delight^® and LAND O LAKES^®; and nationally and internationally branded plant-based foods and beverages, such as Silk ^® soy, almond and coconut milks, and Alpro^® and Provamel^® soy, almond and hazelnut drinks and food products. Morningstar is a leading U.S. manufacturer of extended shelf life ("ESL") creams and creamers, beverages and cultured dairy products with an emphasis on foodservice and private label retail customers. These products include half and half, whipping cream, ice cream mix, value-added milks, sour cream and cottage cheese and are sold under a wide array of private labels and the Friendship™ brand. Basis of Presentation —The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared on the same basis as the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (the "2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K"), which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 27, 2012. In our opinion, we have made all necessary adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) in order to present fairly, in all material respects, our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of the dates and for the periods presented. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") have been omitted. Our results of operations for the period ended March 31, 2012 may not be indicative of our operating results for the full year. The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Quarterly Report should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in our 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless otherwise indicated, references in this report to "we," "us" or "our" refer to Dean Foods Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole. During the first quarter of 2012 we completed the shutdown of the operations of our 50% owned joint venture between WhiteWave and Hero Group, which was part of our WhiteWave-Alpro segment. For the three months ended and as of March 31, 2012, the joint venture's operations were immaterial and only an immaterial amount of assets remain as part of our investment. We may incur additional charges related to our final settlement with Hero Group In the fourth quarter of 2011, our Chief Executive Officer, who is our chief operating decision maker, changed the way he determines strategy and investment plans for our operations. As a result, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2011, our Fresh Dairy Direct and Morningstar operations were separated so that our three reporting segments now consist of Fresh Dairy Direct, WhiteWave-Alpro and Morningstar. This change reflects the divergence between the go-to-market strategies, customer bases and objectives of our businesses and reflects a change in how we expect to deploy our capital in the future. We believe these revised segments have increased internal focus and offered management and investors improved visibility into the performance of the segments against their specific objectives. All segment results set forth herein have been recast to present results on a comparable basis. These changes had no impact on consolidated net sales or operating income. .

General

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

1. General

Nature of Our Business — We are a leading food and beverage company in the United States, as well as a global leader in branded plant-based beverages, such as soy, almond and coconut milks, and other plant-based food products. We align our leadership teams, operating strategies and supply chain initiatives around our three lines of business: Fresh Dairy Direct, WhiteWave-Alpro and Morningstar.

Fresh Dairy Direct is the largest processor and distributor of milk and other dairy products in the United States, with products such as milk, ice cream, cultured dairy products, creamers, ice cream mix and other dairy products sold under more than 50 familiar local and regional brands and a wide array of private labels.

WhiteWave-Alpro markets and sells a variety of nationally branded value-added dairy products, such as Horizon Organic^® milk; nationally branded coffee creamers and beverages, including International Delight^® and LAND O LAKES^®; and nationally and internationally branded plant-based foods and beverages, such as Silk ^® soy, almond and coconut milks, and Alpro^® and Provamel^® soy, almond and hazelnut drinks and food products.

Morningstar is a leading U.S. manufacturer of extended shelf life ("ESL") creams and creamers, beverages and cultured dairy products with an emphasis on foodservice and private label retail customers. These products include half and half, whipping cream, ice cream mix, value-added milks, sour cream and cottage cheese and are sold under a wide array of private labels and the Friendship™ brand.

Basis of Presentation —The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared on the same basis as the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (the "2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K"), which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 27, 2012. In our opinion, we have made all necessary adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) in order to present fairly, in all material respects, our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of the dates and for the periods presented. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") have been omitted. Our results of operations for the period ended March 31, 2012 may not be indicative of our operating results for the full year. The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Quarterly Report should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in our 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Unless otherwise indicated, references in this report to "we," "us" or "our" refer to Dean Foods Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

During the first quarter of 2012 we completed the shutdown of the operations of our 50% owned joint venture between WhiteWave and Hero Group, which was part of our WhiteWave-Alpro segment. For the three months ended and as of March 31, 2012, the joint venture's operations were immaterial and only an immaterial amount of assets remain as part of our investment. We may incur additional charges related to our final settlement with Hero Group

In the fourth quarter of 2011, our Chief Executive Officer, who is our chief operating decision maker, changed the way he determines strategy and investment plans for our operations. As a result, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2011, our Fresh Dairy Direct and Morningstar operations were separated so that our three reporting segments now consist of Fresh Dairy Direct, WhiteWave-Alpro and Morningstar. This change reflects the divergence between the go-to-market strategies, customer bases and objectives of our businesses and reflects a change in how we expect to deploy our capital in the future. We believe these revised segments have increased internal focus and offered management and investors improved visibility into the performance of the segments against their specific objectives. All segment results set forth herein have been recast to present results on a comparable basis. These changes had no impact on consolidated net sales or operating income.