Alcohol and Congener Testing

Alcohol and congener testing services include processes for determining alcohol (ethanol) content by volume or by proof; congener analysis; and blood or urine alcohol testing. The former two are required to ensure that the alcohol the public consumes meets consumer product safety standards. Blood or urine testing for alcohol may be used to check for drink driving offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Alcohol testing is important to ensure products are safe for human consumption; that accurate information is given to the public as to the authenticity of the product; and to comply with food labelling regulations. Congeners are substances other than the desired type of alcohol (ethanol) produced during fermentation. Some are naturally occurring, but congener testing checks that levels are appropriate and looks for industrial solvents that may have been added such as methanol, tert-butanol or iso-propyl alcohol which can cause severe harm to consumers. Blood or urine alcohol testing analyses alcohol levels in the body to support or defend against prosecutions for drink driving, for example. Alcohol and congener testing is supplied by specialist laboratories accredited for quality standards by UKAS. Services may be used by manufacturers, importers and exporters, and trading standards bodies, for example.