An objective, nutritionally orientated classification system is necessary to evaluate the frequency, nutritional quality and temporal distribution of eating events in dietary surveys. In this paper a system to classify eating events qualitatively with regard to the types of food items consumed is described and demonstrated. It comprises eight food categories and criteria for their combination into four types of meals and three types of snacks of various nutrient composition. The food categories represent food items of animal and plant origin, and also food products containing sucrose and beverages containing alcohol or lacking energy and nutrients. Classification requires individual data collected by established food-record or recall methods. Data on consumed amounts is not required to classify qualitatively the eating events per se, but is required for quantitative calculations of their content, composition and relative contribution to total intakes. The application of the system to dietary data (80 repeated 24-h recalls, 517 eating events) of 16 male three-shift workers showed that classification of eating events was easy and largely unequivocal compared to traditional methods. Subsequent calculations showed expected differences between eating types with regard to content and relative quality. The meal-classification system might be used as a cost-effective method to evaluate the nutritional profile of meal patterns in surveys.