Abstract: Against the backdrop of the coordinated advancement of the strategies for building a quality powerhouse, an agricultural powerhouse, and a sci-tech powerhouse, the connotation of agricultural product quality is expanding from a “safety baseline” toward multi-dimensional values encompassing quality, nutrition, health, and branding. However, existing research lacks systematic elaboration on the technical framework and governance pathways supporting this transformation. Based on the theoretical framework of the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI), this paper constructs a six-dimensional analytical framework for the science and technology of agricultural product quality, covering quality evaluation, grading and classification, traceability, authenticity identification, certification and accreditation, and nutritional health and flavor analysis. It reveals five major development trends: intelligent technological convergence, diversification of quality dimensions, institutional standardization, refinement of market mechanisms, and alignment with international standards. This paper analyzes the current bottlenecks and challenges of science and technology in China’s agricultural product quality, including independent innovation, traceability systems, consumer trust mechanisms, standard-brand synergy, and international discourse power. For the first time, this paper systematically introduces the digital NQI framework into scientific and technological research on agricultural product quality, and proposes a progressive strategic pathway from a six-dimensional technical system to a trusted value system and finally to a premium price mechanism. Key tasks are proposed, including building a trusted value system integrating traceability and certification based on digital NQI, establishing a market mechanism of premium price for quality centered on grading and classification, and improving the nutrition- and health-oriented standard evaluation system. This paper aims to provide theoretical support and decision-making references for China’s agricultural product quality transition from “compliance governance” to “multi-dimensional value governance” during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Key words: agricultural product quality; quality science and technology; National Quality Infrastructure; development strategy; mechanism of premium price for quality; traceability system