Legal Alcohol Testing

Our alcohol testing options include:

Head hair alcohol testing

Alcohol abuse can be detected in hair by testing for two different alcohol metabolites called ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE). Both of these alcohol markers are incorporated into the hair via different routes: EtG via sweat and FAEEs via sebum. By performing both tests the evidence is strengthened to determine whether alcohol has been chronically abused.

According to the Society of Hair Testers, the minimum length of hair required for an EtG and FAEE analysis is 3cm from nearest the scalp (proximal).

Unlike drug testing where the metabolites are absorbed through the root of the hair, when a client consumes alcohol the entire length of the hair is contaminated. Therefore, it is not possible to segment the hair. For example, if your client had not drunk for 5 months and then in 1 month drinks an excessive amount of alcohol, the alcohol markers will be found throughout the entire length of the hair.

Biomarker testing in hair can establish a person’s history of alcohol consumption for 3 or 6 months.

Breath alcohol testing

AlphaBiolabs can provide a number of devices for breath alcohol testing dependent on your individual needs.

When a person is tested for alcohol use they need to blow into a breath alcohol device, and the results are given as a digital readout. The readout, known as the breath alcohol concentration (BAC), shows the level of alcohol in the breath at the time the test was taken. It does not measure historical use of alcohol.

Finger prick PEth Alcohol Test

Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a direct biomarker of alcohol, meaning that it requires ethanol (the intoxicating agent in alcoholic drinks) for its production, and can only be detected when alcohol has been consumed.

This makes PEth testing the most accurate of the blood alcohol tests.

It can be used to detect chronic and single-drinking episodes, monitor abstinence, drinking behaviour and relapse, and to verify whether an individual has changed their pattern of alcohol consumption.

It is also the only blood alcohol test that can be performed during pregnancy or within two months of birth.

An AlphaBiolabs PEth test simply requires a few drops of blood, collected using a finger prick device. This quick, virtually pain-free method of blood sample collection is ideal for Sample Donors who are needle phobic or have poor vein access.

Carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) analysis

A carbohydrate deficient transferrin test is widely used as a measure of chronic moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption. A simple blood sample will provide information to determine whether alcohol has been chronically abused in the preceding 4 weeks. In cases of chronic alcohol abuse, the CDT value will become elevated to a value outside of the normal range.

Paired with increased LFT values, and elevated EtG and FAEE results, the evidence will provide conclusive support for chronic alcohol abuse, or indeed abstinence if the results are within the normal range.