Abstract: The food industry is the largest industry in China, which concerns the national economy and the people’s livelihood, and is also an important industry where new formats and new products are emerging vigorously. The food industry ushers in new development opportunities in the process of construction of an innovation-oriented country. In order to effectively promote the development of collaborative innovation in the whole food industry chain, this paper introduces the resource endowments of China’s food industry from the aspects of edible agricultural product resources, operating income of the food industry, and product brand construction in various regions of the country, and summarizes the current status of China’s food science and technology innovation power with respect to research and development investment, distribution of innovation resources, and enterprise innovation strength. The problems existing in the technological innovation-driven development of the food industry in China are dissected. Policy suggestions are put forward such as optimizing the layout of science and technology power, promoting cross-regional collaborative innovation, and highlighting the principal role of enterprises in innovation. This paper aims to provide a reference for improving the scientific and technological innovation ability of food industry and promoting the high-quality development of the food industry in the country.

Key words: food science and technology; innovation; food industry; policy recommendations