Acrylamide's a chemical produced when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures, so we ingest low doses of it in things like chips, toast, cereal and instant coffee. It's been in the news in Europe, where the European Union's just decided it won't go ahead with plans to restrict acrylamide levels in processed food, supposedly after some serious lobbying by the food industry. But does it need to be in our food at all, and should we be worried about it? Ian Shaw, Professor of Toxicology at The University of Canterbury, weighs up the evidence.