Simple models for assessing migration from food-packaging films

Abstract

Owing to their simplicity, two migration models based on Fick's Second Law have been frequently used for the assessment of migration of additives and contaminants from food-packaging films. While the two models are known to provide accurate estimates of diffusion coefficients for complete migration, they could generate considerable estimation errors for significantly partitioned migration. In this paper, the applicability of the two models to partitioned migration is defined by examining the assumptions and derivations of the two models as well as their errors in estimating diffusion coefficients. Furthermore, a simple migration model, based on more realistic assumptions than the two models, is proposed. The proposed model can provide far better estimates of diffusion coefficients for partitioned migration than the two models.