Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 27, 2013	Mar. 03, 2013 Common Stock	Mar. 03, 2013 Common Stock Non-Voting
Entity Registrant Name	HORMEL FOODS CORP /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000048465
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jan. 27, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-27
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		264,871,113	0
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1