Exposure to phthalates through drinking water (systematic review and meta-analysis)

Phthalates can enter bottled water during production, packaging, and storage due to inadequate contact between the polymer and the chemical used. The research utilized several databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. Following an extensive search for duplicate and unnecessary information, a total of 10 research selected from a total of 2359 initial publications. The mentioned databases included articles dated from the first of February 2000, to June 10, 2025. The results show that Elham Khanniri, Mohammed F. Zaater, and Iman Al-Saleh had the highest mean concentrations of DEP (0.97 µg/l), DEHP (3.56 µg/l), DBP (6.53 µg/l), and BBP (1.19 µg/l). Based on the result, phthalate concentrations in bottled drinking water across the EMRO region are significantly influenced by storage temperature and duration. High temperatures (25 °C and 40 °C) markedly accelerate the migration of phthalates (like DEP and DEHP) from the plastic, while low-temperature storage (4 °C) effectively prevents this increase.