Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Jul. 29, 2012	Sep. 02, 2012 Common Stock	Sep. 02, 2012 Common Stock Non-Voting
Entity Registrant Name	HORMEL FOODS CORP /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000048465
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jul. 29, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-28
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		262,879,904	0
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3