Drink-drive limit: you could ‘eat yourself drunk’ on these Christmas foods, says new study
and live on Freeview channel 276
Car scrap recycling company CarTakeBack.com claims to have busted the myth that alcohol used in cooking burns off, and has developed a menu to prove it.
The experiment
The UK drink-driving limit is 0.35mg/l (or 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath).
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdCarTakeBack.com employee, Jo, had a single glass of wine and tucked into a booze-laden three course Christmas menu - put together entirely from supermarket-bought food - to see if it pushed her over this drink-driving limit.
The menu included:
Starter
Heston from Waitrose Bloody Mary Prawn Cocktail (Contains Vodka)
Main
Ocado Roast in the Bag Chicken Potts Chicken, Thyme & Wine Gravy (Contains white wine) ASDA Extra Special Cranberry Sauce with Ruby Port (Contains port) Aunt Bessie’s Golden Yorkshires Aunt Bessie’s Homestyle Roast Potatoes Tesco Broccoli & Cauliflower Floret Mix Waitrose Red Cabbage (Contains red wine)
Dessert
Tesco Finest Christmas Pudding (Contains courvoisier vs cognac, cider, amontillado sherry and ruby port) Potts Brandy Sauce (Contains brandy)Can you eat yourself drunk?
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdWhen Jo has one standard glass of wine on its own, she remained under the drink drive limit. And, even after the starter and main course, Jo still registered on the breathalyser as under the limit.
But after eating the Christmas pudding and brandy sauce, with her glass of wine, Jo would be over the UK drink-drive limit.
And without even having any alcoholic beverage, the food alone pushes Jo over the drink-drive limit in Scotland and some European countries.
CarTakeBack.com claims the experiment dispels the myth that alcohol simply burns off when you cook it. It says that in many recipes - and in supermarket bought food - it’s proven that a lot of alcohol can remain, even after cooking.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe findings come after a 2018 CarTakeBack.com and YouGov survey revealed that almost one in five Brits think it’s acceptable to drink-drive - as long as they feel unaffected.
With 40 million driving licenses in Great Britain, that could add up to nearly seven million drink-drivers.
The company warned customers to be careful this Christmas, reminding them that “driving over the limit in the UK can potentially gain you a huge fine, three months in prison, and a possible driving ban - and that’s not even the worst-case scenario.
“If there could be any alcohol in your system, the safest option is to leave your vehicle behind.”