Dishes that use alcohol as a seasoning can result in alcohol being detected on the breath. Examples include beer-steamed fish, beef hotpot with vinegar, beef in wine sauce, or dishes prepared with strong liquor or wine, such as chicken or pork hock stewed in alcohol. While consuming these foods does not impair one's ability to operate a vehicle, it can still lead to a positive breathalyzer reading.
However, these dishes typically combine alcohol with many other ingredients, meaning the alcohol content is not as high as when consuming alcoholic beverages directly. If you have not consumed alcohol but only eaten beer-steamed fish, you can operate a vehicle after 30 minutes. If you have consumed alcoholic beverages, you must absolutely not drive yourself, as blood alcohol levels cannot be eliminated immediately after drinking.
To avoid a positive breathalyzer reading from food containing alcohol, even without consuming alcoholic beverages, you should drink plain water, rest for 30 minutes, rinse your mouth, and eat fruit as a palate cleanser. If the test still shows a positive result, you can request the officer allow an additional 15 minutes before retesting.
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Beer-steamed fish is mixed with many other ingredients; if alcohol levels rise, they are very low. Photo: Bui Thuy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines an alcohol unit as follows: One alcohol unit is equivalent to 10 g of pure ethanol, which corresponds to 200 ml of beer; 75 ml of wine (one glass); or 25 ml of strong liquor (one shot). A healthy adult typically metabolizes one alcohol unit per hour.
There is no single, precise timeframe for how long after consuming alcohol one can drive, or how long it takes for alcohol to completely clear from the body. The exact time required for the body to eliminate alcohol varies significantly from person to person.
You can attempt to estimate the amount of alcohol consumed and the time it takes for your body to eliminate it by entering your metrics into the table below:
Doctor Nguyen Huy Hoang
Internal Medicine Specialist, Vietnam Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Association
