You could ‘eat yourself’ over the UK drink-drive limit this Christmas - here are the risky foods

You can ‘eat yourself’ over the UK drink-driving limit by eating certain types of food this Christmas, according to a new study.

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).

CarTakeBack.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 ChickenPotts Chicken, Thyme & Wine Gravy (Contains white wine)ASDA Extra Special Cranberry Sauce with Ruby Port (Contains port)Aunt Bessie’s Golden YorkshiresAunt Bessie’s Homestyle Roast PotatoesTesco Broccoli & Cauliflower Floret MixWaitrose 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?

When 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.

The 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.”