Commitments and Contingencies (Details)													0 Months Ended											3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 28, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2012 EUR (€)	Mar. 25, 2010 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2009 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2009 DBCP Litigation [Member]	Jun. 27, 2008 Dismissed Claims [Member]	Mar. 05, 2004 Tennessee Consumers [Member] Pineapple Class Action [Member]	Jul. 13, 2011 Panamanian Residents [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Jul. 13, 2011 Costa Rican Residents [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Jul. 13, 2011 Ecuadorian Residents [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Jun. 01, 2012 Panamanian Banana Workers [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Jun. 01, 2012 Panamanian Banana Workers [Member] Dismissed Claims [Member]	Nov. 09, 2005 California Consumers [Member] Pineapple Class Action [Member]	Mar. 18, 2004 California Consumers [Member] Pineapple Class Action [Member]	Apr. 19, 2004 FloridaConsumers [Member] Pineapple Class Action [Member]	Sep. 28, 2012 Godoy Rodriguez Et Al V AMVAC Chemical Corp Et Al And Martinez Puerto Et Al VAMVAC Chemical Corp Et Al [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Nov. 30, 2009 Angel Abarca Et Al V Dole Food Co Et Al [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Oct. 14, 2004 Angel Abarca Et Al V Dole Food Co Et Al [Member] Costa Rican Banana Workers [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Nov. 30, 2009 Angel Abarca Et Al V Dole Food Co Et Al [Member] Costa Rica Workers selected for testing [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Jan. 02, 2009 Jorge Acosta Cortes Et Al V Dole Food Company Et Al [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Feb. 06, 2012 Macasa, et al. v. Dole Food Co. Inc., et al. [Member] Philippine Banana Workers [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Aug. 01, 2011 Macasa, et al. v. Dole Food Co. Inc., et al. [Member] Philippine Banana Workers [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Jul. 11, 2012 Chaverri, et al. v. Dole Food Co. Inc., et al. [Member] Panamanian Residents [Member] DBCP Litigation [Member]	Sep. 27, 2002 Kunia Well Site [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2001 Kunia Well Site [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2012 Kunia Well Site [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 25, 2003 Kunia Well Site [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2012 Kunia Well Site [Member] Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2012 Kunia Well Site [Member] Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses Current [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 25, 2003 Kunia Well Site [Member] Minimum [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 25, 2003 Kunia Well Site [Member] Maximum [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2012 Weichert [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Loss Contingency Number of Plaintiffs					396	1,329	1	121	72	68	2,930	230		3	1	315	760	2,600	100	461	500	2,500	30
Loss Contingency Claims Consolidated													1
Noncontrolling interest, ownership percentage by parent																																80.00%
European Union Antitrust Investigation, imposed fine	$ 18,900,000	€ 14,700,000
Breach of Contract Litigation, jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff				10,000,000
Breach of Contract Litigation, final court judgment amount			15,700,000
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, charge for estimated expected future cleanup cost																								7,000,000	15,000,000
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, accrual for the expected future clean-up costs																								26,100,000
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, estimated remediation costs associated with the cleanup																									19,100,000			15,400,000	1,700,000	12,900,000	25,400,000
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, undiscounted estimated remediation costs associated with the cleanup																											21,900,000			14,800,000	28,700,000
Kunia Well Site cleanup operation, discount rate of accrual for the expected future clean-up costs																											5.00%
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies, Undiscounted, Due within One Year																										1,700,000
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies, Undiscounted, Due in Second Year																										1,000,000
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies, Undiscounted, Due in Third Year																										1,000,000
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies, Undiscounted, Due in Fourth Year																										1,000,000
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies, Undiscounted, Due in Fifth Year																										$ 1,000,000
Site Contingency, Time Frame of Disbursements																										10 years