Article 144 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China explicitly stipulates the crime of producing and selling toxic and harmful food. An analysis employing analytical frameworks such as collaborative governance theory, intergovernmental relations theory, and digital governance theory reveals that an institutional framework for investigative collaboration concerning such crimes has preliminarily taken shape, and collaborative models at the practical operational level are undergoing continuous innovation. However, examined from the perspective of effectiveness, there remains considerable room for improvement in terms of information sharing, evidence conversion, and the execution mechanism of cross-regional and cross-departmental collaboration. The underlying causes are that the various collaboration dilemmas are not merely issues at the operational level, but rather the result of the superposition of multiple deep-seated factors, including institutional fragmentation, insufficient institutional supply, lagging technological adaptation, and imbalanced incentives and constraints. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize and innovate the investigative collaboration system for crimes of producing and selling toxic and harmful food by constructing an information-sharing platform that breaks down data barriers, unifying the standards and procedures for evidence conversion, and improving the execution mechanisms for cross-regional and cross-departmental collaboration.