A questionnaire arrives from one of your retail customers. It is not the usual food safety or EcoVadis submission. This one asks whether your cocoa or palm oil suppliers operate on deforested land, whether you have a human rights policy covering your ingredient supply chain, and whether you can trace raw materials back to their country of origin. You have two weeks to respond.

This is a supply chain due diligence questionnaire, and if you have not seen one before, you will. Your customers are now legally required to demonstrate responsible sourcing across their supply chains, and they are passing that requirement to you in the form of questions your quality or ESG team has never been asked to answer.

This guide covers what is driving these requests, what customers are actually asking, and how food and beverage suppliers can respond accurately and confidently.

Supply chain due diligence questionnaires for food suppliers: at a glance

• What it is: A structured request from a customer asking you to demonstrate responsible sourcing, human rights compliance, and environmental accountability across your supply chain

• Who it is for: QA, ESG, and compliance teams at food and beverage manufacturers receiving due diligence requests from retailers, brand owners, or manufacturers

• When it matters: When a customer sends questions about deforestation, human rights, supplier traceability, or ethical sourcing that go beyond standard food safety questionnaires

• What you get: A clear understanding of what is being asked, why, and how to respond in a way that satisfies your customer's compliance requirements

Why this questionnaire looks different from anything you have received before

Standard food safety and quality questionnaires ask about your operations: your certifications, your HACCP plan, your allergen controls, your traceability system. The questions are familiar because the underlying standards, BRCGS, FSSC 22000, EcoVadis, have been around long enough that most Quality and ESG teams have answered them dozens of times.

Supply chain due diligence questionnaires ask something different. They ask about your suppliers' operations, and your suppliers' suppliers. They want to know whether the cocoa in your chocolate flavouring was grown on land that was deforested after December 2020. Whether the workers harvesting your palm oil ingredients have freedom of association. Whether you have a policy that covers human rights risks in your ingredient supply chain, not just your own facility.

Most food suppliers are not equipped to answer these questions the first time they arrive. The data does not live in the same places as food safety documentation. The language is unfamiliar. And the stakes are real: your customer needs your answers to build their own compliance case with regulators or auditors.

What is driving it: the regulatory context your customer is navigating

Your customer is not asking these questions because they suddenly became interested in your supply chain. They are asking because legislation is requiring them to.

Three regulations are creating most of the pressure currently reaching food suppliers in Europe:

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires companies placing specific commodities on the EU market, including cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, and wood products, to prove those commodities are deforestation-free and legally produced. Large and medium operators must comply by 30 December 2026, and micro and small operators by 30 June 2027. To build that proof, they need information from their suppliers, which means from you.

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) requires large EU companies to identify and address human rights and environmental impacts across their value chains. After the Omnibus I amendments approved by the European Parliament in December 2025, the directive applies from July 2029 to companies with 5,000 or more employees and EUR 1.5 billion in global turnover. The formal deadline is 2029 but customers in scope are already building their supplier data now.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires large companies to report on sustainability impacts across their value chains, including supply chain practices. The first wave of companies began reporting for the 2024 financial year. Supplier data feeds those reports.

The important point for your team: you do not need to be directly in scope of any of these regulations to receive a due diligence questionnaire. If your customer is in scope, they need your data to meet their obligations. The questionnaire you receive is a downstream effect of their compliance requirements.

The four question areas that appear most in supply chain due diligence requests

Supply chain due diligence questionnaires vary in format and depth but consistently cover the same four areas. Understanding what each area is actually trying to establish helps you respond with the right information rather than guessing.

1. Deforestation and commodity traceability

Customers asking about deforestation are trying to demonstrate EUDR compliance. They need to show that commodities in their products were not produced on land deforested after 31 December 2020.

For food suppliers this typically means questions about specific ingredients: cocoa, palm oil, soya, coffee, or products derived from cattle. The questions will ask whether you can trace these ingredients back to their country of origin, and in some cases to the specific production plots or farms where they were grown.

If your products contain any of the seven EUDR-regulated commodities, expect these questions. If they do not, say so clearly and specifically.

2. Human rights and labour practices in your supply chain

Customers asking about human rights are trying to demonstrate CSDDD and CSRD compliance. They need to show they have assessed risks in their value chain, not just their own operations.

For food suppliers this means questions about whether you have a human rights policy, whether it covers your ingredient suppliers, whether you conduct assessments of human rights risks in your supply chain, and whether you have a grievance mechanism for workers. SEDEX membership and SMETA audits are often referenced as evidence of compliance in this area.

These questions are not asking whether your own facility has good labour practices. They are asking whether you have a system for managing those risks across the suppliers you buy from.

3. Environmental impact data

Customers asking about environmental impact are feeding sustainability reports and carbon accounting requirements. They typically ask about your Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, your water usage, your waste figures, and whether you have reduction targets in place.

For food suppliers who have already completed EcoVadis or CSRD-linked questionnaires, much of this data already exists. The challenge is that due diligence questionnaires sometimes ask for Scope 3 emissions data, which includes the emissions of your own suppliers, and most food suppliers do not have this compiled.

4. Supplier code of conduct and ethical sourcing policies

Customers asking about your supplier code of conduct want to see that you have requirements flowing down your own supply chain. Do you have a code that your ingredient suppliers must sign? Do you audit against it? What happens when a supplier does not comply?

This area is often where food suppliers have the least documentation. Many have food safety requirements for their suppliers but not formalised ethical sourcing policies.

What strong answers look like for each area

Deforestation and commodity traceability

Weak answer: "We source our ingredients from approved suppliers who meet our quality requirements."

Why it fails: It says nothing about deforestation risk or traceability. The customer cannot use this answer to demonstrate anything to regulators.

What a strong answer includes: Name the EUDR-regulated commodities you use, if any. State where they are sourced from at country level, and at region or farm level if you have that data. If you use certified sustainable ingredients, name the certification (RSPO for palm oil, Rainforest Alliance for cocoa or coffee) and attach the certificate. If none of your ingredients fall under EUDR scope, state that explicitly with the ingredient list to support it.

Human rights and labour practices

Weak answer: "We are committed to ethical business practices and comply with all relevant legislation."

Why it fails: It is a statement of intent, not evidence of a system. The customer needs to show their auditor or regulator that their suppliers have actual processes in place.

What a strong answer includes: Reference your human rights policy by name, confirm when it was last reviewed, and state whether it covers your own suppliers. If you are a SEDEX member, say so and confirm your SMETA audit status. If you have conducted a human rights risk assessment of your ingredient supply chain, summarise the scope and findings. If you have a grievance mechanism, describe how workers can raise concerns.

If you do not have formal human rights due diligence in place yet, be honest about where you are and what you have. A supplier that says "we do not currently have a formal supplier human rights assessment process but we require all ingredient suppliers to sign our supplier code of conduct, which includes labour standards" is more credible than one that provides a vague statement of values.

Environmental impact data

Weak answer: "We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and have a number of initiatives underway."

Why it fails: No data, no verification, nothing the customer can put into a sustainability report.

What a strong answer includes: Provide actual figures for Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and waste for the most recent reporting year. State the data source and whether it has been externally verified. If you have reduction targets, state them with a baseline year and target year. If you do not have Scope 3 data, say so directly and note whether you are working to compile it.

Many food suppliers already have this data from EcoVadis submissions. Pull it from there rather than treating it as a new request.

Supplier code of conduct

Weak answer: "We have high expectations of our suppliers and work collaboratively to ensure compliance."

Why it fails: It implies a process without describing one. The customer cannot verify whether a code of conduct exists or what it covers.

What a strong answer includes: Confirm whether you have a supplier code of conduct. State what it covers, whether it includes labour rights, environmental standards, anti-corruption, and food safety. State whether suppliers are required to sign it and how frequently it is reviewed. If you audit against it, describe how. Attach the code if the customer has not indicated it is confidential.

What are the key benefits of responding well to due diligence requests?

• Continued access to key customers. Retailers and brand owners in scope of CSDDD and EUDR need supplier data to meet their own legal obligations. Suppliers who cannot provide it risk being replaced by those who can.

• Fewer follow-up requests. A complete, specific response that addresses what the customer actually needs reduces back-and-forth and keeps the relationship moving efficiently.

• Early preparation for stricter requirements. The regulatory pressure driving these questionnaires is not going away. Building the data and documentation now means the next request takes a fraction of the time.

• Stronger commercial position. Suppliers who can demonstrate responsible sourcing transparently are increasingly preferred over those who cannot. This is becoming a commercial differentiator, not just a compliance checkbox.

• Reduced risk of supply chain disruption. Understanding your own ingredient supply chain well enough to answer these questions also means identifying risks before they become problems.

What to prepare before the next one arrives

Due diligence questionnaires arrive with deadlines and your customer cannot wait for you to build a data collection system from scratch. The suppliers who respond quickly and accurately are the ones who have the right information organised before the questionnaire lands.

Know which EUDR commodities are in your products. Go through your ingredient list and identify whether any contain cocoa, palm oil, soya, coffee, cattle derivatives, rubber, or wood products. For those that do, establish the country of origin and any sustainability certifications that apply. This is the foundational data for EUDR-related questions.

Have a human rights policy in place. If you do not have one, this is the most important gap to close. It does not need to be complex. A clear, dated policy signed by senior leadership that covers labour rights, health and safety, anti-corruption, and environmental standards, and that explicitly applies to your suppliers, is a credible starting point.

Compile your environmental data. Your Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and waste figures for the most recent year should be accessible and consistent across any questionnaire you submit. If this data lives across multiple systems or sites, build a single consolidated record.

Document your supplier requirements. Whether you have a supplier code of conduct, a self-assessment questionnaire you send to ingredient suppliers, or an audit programme, document it clearly. Customers asking about your supplier management practices need to see that a system exists, not just that you have good intentions.

If you already have a reusable answer library in place for your questionnaire responses, these due diligence data points belong in it alongside your food safety and certification answers. The infrastructure is the same. The content is new. Our guide on supplier questionnaire automation for food suppliers covers how to build that foundation.

Conclusion

Supply chain due diligence questionnaires are a new category of request for most food and beverage suppliers, driven by legislation that is requiring your customers to demonstrate responsible sourcing across their value chains. The questions look unfamiliar because they are asking about your supply chain, not just your facility.

The four things worth remembering:

• These questionnaires arrive because your customer is in scope of EUDR, CSDDD, or CSRD and needs your data to meet their obligations. You do not need to be in scope yourself to receive them.

• The four areas that appear most often are deforestation and commodity traceability, human rights and labour practices, environmental impact data, and supplier code of conduct compliance.

• Strong answers are specific, verifiable, and honest about gaps. Vague statements of commitment give your customer nothing they can use.

• The data and documentation you build to answer these questions now reduces the time it takes to respond to every request that follows.

If your team is receiving due diligence questionnaires and rebuilding responses from scratch each time, Passionfruit can change that. It works on top of your existing documents, matches incoming questions to your approved answers, and keeps your response library current. Book a demo here to see what it looks like with your actual use case.