EU now demanding geolocated traceability
The EU is moving from voluntary sustainability talk to concrete proof: firms placing food on the EU market must demonstrate goods are deforestation‑free and fully traceable with verifiable geolocation data. Reports say this requirement is already shaping how manufacturers and importers design supply‑chain controls and documentation. (foodandbeverage.business )
The European Union now requires companies selling covered food and farm goods into the bloc to trace them back to the plot of land where they were produced. (europa.eu) Those rules sit in Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, the European Union deforestation law covering cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood, plus products made from them such as chocolate, leather, tyres and furniture. The European Commission says operators placing those goods on the European Union market must prove they did not come from land deforested after December 31, 2020. (eur-lex.europa.eu) (europa.eu) In practice, “traceability” here means map data, not just paperwork. The Commission’s implementation guidance says companies must collect geolocation coordinates for the plots of land where the commodity was produced, with polygon mapping required in many cases and specific questions devoted to bulk cargoes, mixed goods and geolocation verification. (circabc.europa.eu) The compliance clock has moved twice, but the system is already built. After amendments in December 2024 and December 2025, the Commission says large and medium operators must comply from December 30, 2026, while micro and small operators must comply from June 30, 2027. (europa.eu 1) (europa.eu 2) The European Commission launched the electronic Information System in December 2024, and it is the channel for filing due diligence statements. The system asks users to identify the origin of materials, select one or more points or areas on a map, and record product details such as type, weight or volume. (europa.eu 1) (europa.eu 2) The law is moving supply-chain controls away from broad sustainability claims and toward evidence that customs officials and national regulators can check. Commission guidance says authorities can compare submitted coordinates with satellite images and forest-cover maps when testing whether a shipment is deforestation-free. (eeas.europa.eu) The European Union has also added a country-risk system that changes how often companies and regulators will be checked. The Commission says sourcing from low-risk countries brings simplified due diligence, while member-state authorities are expected to check at least 1 percent of operators sourcing from low-risk countries, 3 percent from standard-risk countries and 9 percent from high-risk countries. (europa.eu) (eur-lex.europa.eu) A December 2025 revision also shifted some paperwork inside the supply chain. The Commission says the duty to submit the due diligence statement now sits with the operator that first places the product on the market, while downstream operators and traders must keep the reference number from that original filing. (europa.eu) Industry groups and some governments had argued the original timetable was too tight for smallholders, importers and customs systems, which is why Brussels delayed the start date. The Commission kept the core requirement intact: when the law starts applying, companies will need plot-level geolocation and a due diligence record that can survive an official check. (consilium.europa.eu) (europa.eu)
