In the mid-1980s China carried out the "Vegetable Basket" project, aiming to solve shortages of poultry, eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables. Through efforts over nearly a decade, supplies of non-staple foods were greatly improved. The market flourished in terms of both supply and demand, and prices were stable. By 1999, China became the world's largest producer of meat, eggs and aquatic products, and the annual per capita consumption rate increased to five to 15 times that of the years before reform and opening-up. Coarse grain gradually disappeared from people's dinning tables and fine grain became the main staple food. An unprecedented variety of vegetables and fruits became available. Chicken, duck, fish and meat, all of which used to appear on people's dining tables only during festivals, became commonplace. Chinese people's diet began to change from one of subsistence to one of comfort and choice.

One interesting phenomenon was the flourishing market for health products in the late 1980s. By 1994, the number of factories making these products had increased from less than 100 to 3,000, and more than 30,000 products were available. Annual output value increased from RMB 1.6 billion to RMB 30 billion. People paid greater attention to nutrition once the problem of providing enough food and clothing had been solved. Lured by the traditional concept of "medicines and food are from the same origin," many consumers had blind faith in health products, and dealers exaggerated their benefits by blurring the differences between food and medicine. A selective survey on oral health liquids conducted by the Ministry of Health in the mid-1990s revealed that only 30 percent of the products were up to standard. Manufacturers lost the trust of consumers, resulting in the decline of the health products market.

With the promulgation of the Food Hygiene Law in 1995 and Measures for the Administration of Health Food in 1996, the government straightened out the health products market and established strict monitoring systems, putting the health products market on the right track. In 2004 the production value of health products amounted to RMB 50 billion. It is predicted that by 2010 China's health product market will have a capacity of RMB 100 billion.

Over Indulgence and Thinking Twice

Following a series of food safety scandals, organic foods, especially organic fruits and vegetables, have become more popular.

In the 1990s China's per capita consumption of meat, aquatic products, poultry, eggs, fruit and vegetables all surpassed the world average, and the per head nutritional intake reached the level of a moderately developed nation.

Starting in the early 1990s, China saw a vogue of extravagant dining habits, and delicacies such as abalone, sea cucumber and shark's fins were sought after. Annual consumption on Chinese dining tables amounted to RMB 100 billion. A study of Chinese dietary trends shows that compared to other Asian nations, Chinese people place a greater emphasis on "face," resulting in people pursuing extravagance in feasting, and prizing rare ingredients and wild game. In 2004, the deadly SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak, caused by eating a wild animal called masked palm civet, caused people to step back and think twice about this trend.