Getting drunk on food: Yes, it’s possible

On Behalf of | Jul 14, 2017 | Owi/dui

You went out to dinner with friends an hour or so before you decided to drive home, and then you started to feel odd. You didn’t have anything unusual for dinner, yet you feel slightly tipsy. Your vehicle must have been swerving, because an officer pulls you over moments later.

When you take the breath test, you find you’re over the legal limit. How is that possible if you haven’t even been drinking? One possibility is that the dinner you ate was cooked with alcohol.

It’s not entirely true that alcohol cooks off food. Since that’s the case, it’s important to consider how much you’re eating along with the amount of alcohol in it. That alcohol can, and will, affect your blood alcohol levels.

How much alcohol can foods cooked in alcohol contain? In a study performed by one individual, he ate several dishes cooked in alcohol before breathalyzing himself to find out. He was at .02 to begin with. With one food, Chorizo flambéed with rum, he was already over the limit to drive. Of course, that is a little extreme, and it’s possible that the man had not eaten before the meal. If he had, the alcohol would have absorbed more slowly into his system.

After he ate a full meal, Portuguese fish stew in white wine, he tested himself again. Although his BAC had dropped since the earlier reading, it was still 0.13, too high to drive. That is a perfect example of why knowing what you’re eating is important.

If you’re pulled over and didn’t know you had food with alcohol in it, you may have a good defense against the charges. Your attorney can help you build a defense against the charges.

Source: Business Insider, “Yes, you can get drunk eating food made with alcohol,” Erin Brodwin, accessed July 14, 2017

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