The water bottle market has churned in recent years. Escalating concerns about the health effects of BisphenolA, or BPA, ravaged sales of polycarbonate plastic bottles. Stainless steel and aluminum became the new bottles of the eco- and health-conscious. Yet recently one of the biggest beneficiaries of this trend — SIGG water bottles — revealed that some of its bottles were lined with BPA as late as 2008. As the company deals with the aftermath of this revelation, will consumers be on heightened alert for other BPA sources in their diet?

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You probably have BPA in your body. According to recent studies by the Centers for Disease Control, 93-95 percent of Americans have detectable amounts of BPA in their urine. And a growing — though still hotly debated — body of research indicates connections between BPA and adverse reproductive and neurological effects, particularly in the early years of development.

BPA is a key ingredient in making polycarbonate plastic, the type once widely used in Nalgene and other plastic water bottles. BPA is also common in the linings that coat the inside of tin cans and aluminum beverage containers; the micro-thin barrier preventsthe contents from contacting the metal.

Studies with polycarbonate plastic indicate that trace amounts of BPA leach into liquids and food, especially when heated. Beginning in 2007, most retailers voluntarily pulled all BPA bottles from their shelves. Within months, manufacturers replaced them with ones made from new non-BPA plastics. In the interim and aftermath, metal water bottle manufacturers flourished, notably SIGG and KleenKanteen.

The irony is that many SIGG water bottles sold during the height of this transition — touted by SIGG as a safe BPA-free alternative — did in fact contain the chemical. (SIGG replaced all of its linings with a BPA-free alternative in 2008.) No discernible trace or leaching of BPA into liquids from the SIGG lining was found, but many retailers — including Patagonia and REI — discontinued or greatly reduced their relationship with SIGG after the revelations.

As SIGG nurses its black eye, a much larger BPA culprit remains quietly unchallenged: food containers. According to the FDA, more than 15 percent of the total American diet comes out of cans. Most tin cans and aluminum drink containers are lined with BPA, which has been shown to leach into food, especially when pasteurized at high temperatures. BPA also tends to leach more into acidic foods, like tomato sauce.

At the moment, little progress is being made towards a BPA-free alternative for food containers, though a handful of companies have begun using BPA-free linings in at least some of their products. Expect to see BPA-free labeling become more common in the future.