In recent years, with the market scale of cross-border e-commerce imported food rapidly growing, cross-border e-commerce imported food has become one of the most purchased imported retail items. However, there are great potential food safety hazards in cross-border e-commerce imports. The current regulation of cross-border e-commerce imported food safety is faced with multiple dilemmas, including the dilemma of subject accountability caused by the flawed regulation system, the dilemma of safety control caused by imperfect risk management, the dilemma of information traceability caused by the complex trade mode, and the post-relief dilemma caused by limited social coordination. Therefore, it is highly required to improve the regulation system, innovate on the risk mechanism, stress empowerment through science and technology and coordinate social governance, so as to standardize the system of subject rights and responsibilities, eliminate the safety regulation defects, strengthen information traceability, guarantee relief and right protection in accordance with the law, and enhance the government’s capability to regulate cross-border e-commerce imported food safety.

Food safety liability insurance represents an integral component of the national food safety system, playing a vital role in food safety governance. However, its effective implementation confronts a fourfold challenge: 1) food enterprises exhibit reluctance to insure, driven by perceived cost-benefit imbalance and risk perception bias; 2) regulatory authorities face constraints arising from the tension between ensuring policy compliance and achieving enforcement efficiency; 3) insurance companies struggle with inadequate product supply and risk pricing challenges; 4) and consumers face difficulties in claiming rights. To address these issues, this study proposes a multi-dimensional innovation system integrating “precision governance-institutional optimization-collaborative governance”. At the enterprise level, a multi-dimensional risk assessment system should be established, alongside implementing differentiated insurance strategies and dynamic reputation management. At the regulatory level, the legal framework and coordinated regulatory mechanisms should be improved, and a fiscal-market collaborative premium-sharing mechanism should be established. Insurance companies need to promote product and service innovation, and optimize risk pricing and data-sharing mechanisms. At the level of consumer rights protection, the “insurance + mediation” mechanism and information sharing platforms should be innovated. Through the organic linkage of precision governance, institutional optimization, and collaborative governance, a risk co-governance pattern can be formed, thus promoting the transformation of food safety governance from a post-incident remediation model to a risk prevention and control model.