Abstract: Digital technology has provided a driving force for innovation in food safety credit supervision mechanism. By constructing an analytical framework of “transaction costs-information capital-regulatory architecture” and using practical cases in Shenzhen and Hangzhou, this paper analyzes the mechanism of innovation in food safety credit supervision through digital empowerment, revealing that digital technology has driven the transformation of the food safety credit supervision system from passive response to proactive prevention, and from single regulation to social co-governance, by reducing information transaction costs, promoting the capitalization of credit information, and reconstructing a multi-stakeholder collaborative regulatory architecture. This paper proposes the following implementation paths: 1) building an integrated food safety credit data governance system, 2) establishing a dynamic food safety credit rating mechanism based on multi-source data, 3) reconstructing a collaborative and intelligent supervision network, 4) strengthening the development of digital governance capacity for food safety, and 5) fostering an incentive-compatible institutional environment, thereby enhancing the precision, efficiency, and intelligence of food safety credit supervision.

Key words: digital empowerment; food safety; credit supervision; transaction costs; information capital; governance structure