Computer Assisted Kinetic Evaluation

Computer Assisted Kinetic Evaluation (CAKE) is a simple to use tool which implements both the FOCUS Kinetics and the NAFTA guidance to generate degradation kinetics.

CAKE Usage and Distribution

CAKE 4.0 is a tool to assist with the production of kinetic fits in accordance with FOCUS-Kinetics guidance (FOCUS,2006 and FOCUS, 2014), NAFTA guidance (NAFTA, 2015) and some parts of the ICAMA guidance. The current version with a build date of February 2026 (made available to download from 10 March 2026) is developed by The Applied and Computational Sciences Team of Capgemini Engineering (formerly known as Tessella) and is sponsored by Syngenta Ltd. Scientific and technical advice on the kinetic fitting is provided by Ian Hardy (Battelle UK Ltd.) and Simon Ford (Life Scientific Ltd.). For details regarding the changes to CAKE in this latest version, please refer to the release notes.

CAKE is and will be distributed on a free to use basis subject to the conditions stated in the Software Licence. You must agree to these terms before downloading, installing, distributing or using CAKE.

One change from previous CAKE versions is that the application source code is being made available. You may request access to the source code of CAKE, provided that you have complied and will continue to comply with all terms and conditions of the CAKE license agreement. To request the source code, you must submit a written request to Syngenta at cake.support@syngenta.com, specifying the reasons for the request and any intended use of the source code. Upon receiving a valid request, Syngenta may approve the request and provide you with access to the source code, subject to any applicable confidentiality and security measures.

You shall use the source code solely for the purposes specified in the request and shall not distribute, modify, or sublicense the source code without Syngenta’s prior written consent. Syngenta reserves the right to revoke access to the source code if you breach any terms of the license agreement or use the source code for unauthorized purposes.

Enquiries

Please direct all enquiries on CAKE, including requests related to the availability of previous versions, to: cake.support@syngenta.com

Installing CAKE

To install CAKE 4.0, download the appropriate installer for your operating system and follow the steps of the installer.

This version of CAKE bundles R 4.4.2 along with all the needed libraries. By accepting the license of CAKE, you are also accepting the license of R.

References

FOCUS (2006). Guidance document on estimating persistence and degradation kinetics from environmental fate studies on pesticides in EU registration. Report of the FOCUS Work Group on Degradation Kinetics, EC Document Reference Sanco/10058/2005, version 2.0, 434 pp.

FOCUS (2014). Generic guidance for Estimating Persistence and Degradation Kinetics from Environmental Fate Studies on Pesticides in EU Registration. Version 1.1. 440 pp.

NAFTA (2015). Guidance for Evaluating and Calculating Degradation Kinetics in Environmental Media. 23rd March 2015

ICAMA (2017). Guidance for evaluating and calculating degradation kinetics in environmental media for pesticide registration. Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China. NY/T 3150-2017ICAMA citation?

In Memorium, Mitesh Patel, 23rd February 1984 – 14th June 2024