The SML program is a joint development by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) and the Advanced Kinetics and Technology Solutions AG company (AKTS AG).

The verification of compliance of food packaging by the application of recognised diffusion models has recently been introduced into European legislation [1].

SML is a simulation program. Using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) it is able to predict the amount of a substance (additive, contaminant or residual monomer) that will migrate from a plastic packaging material into packaged food during a given time. The program is designed, initially, as a scientific tool for people involved in food packaging: material producers can check compliance of a material with Specific Migration Limit (SML) values (comparison of Qm with SML); laboratory specialists can use the calculated concentrations to design experimental conditions for a migration test. A non-exhaustive list of starting substances (monomers and additives) used in the fabrication of plastic materials coming into contact with food is also included.

SML-Software focuses on the simulation of release of additives from multilayer packaging over extensive temperature ranges and under temperature conditions at which ordinary investigation would be very difficult. Difficulties arise when temperature fluctuates during observation time. With SML-Software, it is possible to consider complex surrounding temperature profiles such as: stepwise, modulated and shock, as well as real atmospheric temperature profiles (up to 7000 climates). The technique allows the simulation of complex packaging (different geometries and up to 10 multilayer films). By way of comparison, direct investigation of such diffusion processes would be very complex with this variety of possible conditions. Calculation of the diffusive process is based on Fick’s law. It uses the Arrhenius equation and the latest version of the Piringer model with refined Ap constant to approximate the diffusion coefficients [2,3]. Diffusion and concentration distribution in all packaging layers can be computed for both migrant substances leaving the packaging and for food components entering it.

[1] Commission Directive 2002/72/EC, OJEC L220 of 15 August 2002
[2] Piringer, O. Food Additives and Contaminants, 11 (1994) 221.
[3] Materials and Articles in Contact with Foodstuffs – Plastics: Estimation of Migration by Generally Recognised Diffusion Models in Support of EU Directive 90/128/EEC (Migration modelling), CEN/TC194/SC1/WG4 N106, version 1, August 2001.

Simulation of Deterrent Diffusion in Double Base Propellant Under Different
Temperature Profiles (240 Ko)

Download Monolayer Version (= freeware)

AKTS-SML Software Version 4.51
Last upgrade : March 11, 2010 (5.14MB)
Note : Simply download the above *.zip file and doubleclick on it.)
Finally open the analysis examples using SML Software.

Download Multilayer Version (up to 10 layers)

AKTS-SML Software Version 4.51
Last upgrade : March 11, 2010 (11MB)
Note : Simply download the above *.zip file and doubleclick on it.)
Finally open the analysis examples using SML Software.

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