Food safety issues have undermined customer confidence in China in recent years, and even though conditions have improved, winning back customer trust is a challenge, a former US Food and Drug Administration official told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"China's food safety is definitely getting better, there's no question in my mind now. China has robust standards for food," said David Acheson, founder and CEO of The Acheson Group, a food safety consulting firm, and a former FDA chief medical officer.

"But whether it means it's where we need to be, no," he said. "Neither is the US."