Modern supply chain traceability platforms like TrusTrace are helping global food and beverage companies close compliance traceability gaps. Learn more about the TrusTrace Food and Beverage Solution.
Until recently, the supply chain data you needed in the food and beverage industry was primarily tied to product quality and food safety which includes responding to FSMA. Batch traceability meant documenting processing steps and ensuring that products were safe for consumers. These systems remain essential, but they are no longer enough to meet the evolving expectations of ethical sourcing by regulators, retailers, investors and customers.
Today’s expectations reach far beyond safety. You are now expected to report on sustainability of your supply chain by disclosing countries of origin for ingredients, proving that land was legally managed and demonstrating whether workers along the chain were treated and paid fairly. This level of visibility demands an entirely different level of due diligence data. It is data that can verify ethical sourcing, prove deforestation-free production and show compliance with forced labor prevention regulations. Sustainability data has become the foundation of responsible, competitive and resilient global sourcing.
Food companies operate in some of the world’s highest-risk supply chains. Coffee, cocoa, palm oil and paper-based packaging often pass through many intermediaries and mass-balance systems, creating limited visibility into environmental risks like illegal deforestation and social risks such as forced labor.
With EUDR and new forced labor laws now requiring precise, verifiable data at every step, robust sustainability data collection has become essential. Without accurate primary data, you cannot prove that your ingredients are deforestation-free, legally produced or free from forced labor.
Under EUDR, you must collect and report data that was not previously required at this scale, including:
The full "How to Comply with EUDR" guide is found here. If you cannot produce this evidence, shipments may be blocked, delayed or rejected at the border. The regulation is strict, data-heavy and time-sensitive. It requires information that often sits far beyond your direct suppliers.
This is where a dedicated deforestation compliance system becomes essential. TrusTrace Deforestation Compliance, powered by our partnership with OpenAtlas, integrates high-quality satellite imagery with automated supply chain data collection to deliver the evidence you need to monitor your supply chain.
Alongside deforestation, forced labor prevention has emerged as a major regulatory priority in key markets. The U.S. forced labor prevention laws, Canada's Forced Labor Prevention Act S211 and the EU Forced Labour Regulation require you as the importer to collect and validate:
Detention orders can halt shipments immediately, triggering operational disruptions that affect inventory, fulfillment and revenue. Without reliable evidence, you cannot demonstrate compliance or respond effectively to a regulatory inquiry.
Whether you are importing into U.S., Canada or EU, the Supplier Evidence Checklist guide will help you prepare an efficient data system for responding.
Your obligation to collect supply chain sustainability compliance data at the scale required by today’s regulations is not something traditional systems can handle. ERP tools, food safety platforms and spreadsheets were not designed to:
What you need is an enterprise-level sustainability compliance and due diligence data system that can collect, verify and organize evidence at speed and scale. An AI-powered system built for supply chain compliance enables your team to:
Supplier information, certificates, audits, coordinates and documents can be collected and managed in one place.
AI-powered document checks, automated risk screening and geospatial verification ensure accuracy, consistency and reduce manual workload.
EUDR and other deforestation laws, forced labor laws and corporate commitments all require precise and timely documentation.
Sustainability risk can appear at any time. Always-on risk screening gives companies early warning of risk and compliance issues.
With reliable data, companies can confidently trade in markets with sustainability, deforestation and forced labor prevention regulations.
Global food supply chains will only grow more complex, and so will the sustainability expectations placed on them. Collecting robust, primary data is now the foundation for meeting those expectations. It enables companies to comply with deforestation rules, prevent forced labor exposure and demonstrate leadership in responsible sourcing.
Food safety will always remain essential, but it is no longer sufficient to protect the industry’s future. Understanding where raw materials come from, how they were produced and who was involved is becoming central to ethical and compliant global food and beverage operations. You must be able to know, prove and continuously improve your data infrastructure to meet the rising demands of supply chain compliance.
TrusTrace helps the world's leading brands secure market access and protect consumer trust by automating the evidence collection required to prove ethical sourcing compliance.
Trusted by companies representing over $200 billion in combined retail sales, TrusTrace provides the data foundation companies need to make confident, compliant decisions across complex, global value chains.
By adding a dedicated risk and compliance layer to your existing systems, TrusTrace centralizes regulatory data, enabling you to monitor and mitigate risks across multi-tier supply chains. Automated alerts, validated risk assessments, and corrective action plans make compliance a consistent, repeatable capability. Contact us for a demo of TrusTrace for Food & Beverage.