OPTIMIZATION OF A UV-VIS SPECTROMETRIC METHOD FOR CAFFEINE ANALYSIS IN TEA, COFFEE AND OTHER BEVERAGES

A method has been developed and validated for the determination of caffeine in tea, coffee and other beverages by UV-VIS spectrometry. A linear calibration curve was generated with caffeine concentration ranging from 3 mg∙L-1 to 18 mg∙L-1. The procedure developed provides a 0.85 mg∙L-1 detection limit of caffeine, respectively 1.52 mg∙L-1 quantification limit and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 0.05 % for independent measurement. The developed method was sensitive/specific and robust. Caffeine in tea infusions was found to be dependent on infusion time, the longer of the infusion time and the higher of the caffeine concentrations in tea infusions

Trade Negotiations between the EU and South Africa: A Three-Level Game

This article develops and uses an adapted version of Putnam's two- (extended to three-) level game model to analyse the EU agenda-setting process in the negotiations between the EU and South Africa that led to the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement in 1999. The article argues that the model needs to place its domestic focus at the level of the Commission, rather than at the level of the Member States. It demonstrates that the negotiations within the Commission, as well as the location of the Commission negotiating team within DG Development, were central for understanding the EU agenda and the final outcome of the negotiations. Copyright (c) 2007 The Author(s); Journal compilation (c) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.