The standard three meals a day may be falling by the wayside, with breakfast, lunch and dinner now being supplemented by an unofficial fourth meal -- the afternoon snack -- according to a study by Chicago-based Mintel International Group.
The study, entitled Mintel Consumer Intelligence Salty Snack Report, indicates that consumers purchased $19 billion worth of potato chips, pretzels and other snack products in 1999, an increase of about 5 percent from 1998.