Deepinder Goyal responds to Luke Coutinho’s request for Swiggy and Zomato to transition towards biodegradable packaging

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has responded to Luke Coutinho, a popular nutritionist and lifestyle expert, who recently took to Instagram to convey his apprehension about using plastic containers by food delivery services and restaurants. Coutinho highlighted health concerns associated with use of plastic containers to pack hot food and urged food delivery platforms to transition to biodegradable materials.

His Instagram post read, “Swiggy, Zomato, Restaurants, Please work with your partners to ensure food deliveries happen in biodegradable non-plastic containers, many restaurants do this already, please make it uniform. Deliver food and health...hot food in plastic is making people sicker...You have the power to help make a change [sic].”

He further explained, “This heat starts to break down the plastic into dangerous BPA and other toxins that wreak havoc with the human body and hormones, fertility, estrogens, etc. We need to move to biodegradable, non-plastic ASAP for better health and a better earth.”

Coutinho gave the industry giants a direct call to action, “@swiggyindia @zomato @fssai_safefood you have the power to make this change and be part of a healthier India.”

In response to Coutinho's call to action, Deepinder Goyal acknowledged the concerns and responded to Luke's post.

Deepinder Goyal replied, “Thanks, Luke, for bringing this up. We will do what we can - will highlight restaurants which use food-safe packaging, so customers can make a more conscious choice.” He promised to prioritise the adoption of biodegradable packaging, thus taking a step in the direction desired by Coutinho.

While expressing gratitude for Zomato's response, Coutinho called out Swiggy for their lack of action, saying, “Thank you @deepigoyal @zomato for acknowledging this and moving to action...at the end of the day, it's about coming together with a vision to build a healthier country...thank you and me and my team are happy to help anytime. I wonder when @swiggyindia will decide to wake up and at least acknowledge participation.”