http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/acryfaq.html
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This page provides answers to questions about acrylamide, a chemical with a variety of industrial uses. Acrylamide is used to make polyacrylamide, which is used, for example, in some cosmetics and in some food packaging materials (e.g., paperboard and paperboard products subject to FDA food additive regulations), in soil conditioning agents, and in the formation of plastics and specialized grouting agents. Polyacrylamide also is used to treat sewage and wastewater and to purify drinking water. The page includes information on what the risk of illness from eating foods contaminated with acrylamide is, how acrylamide is formed in food, what kinds of cooking lead to acrylamide formation, and more.