Is there a dark secret in your crispy potatoes?

We hear time and time again that the dark, crispy bits on cooked food are bad for us. It’s a story that periodically makes it to the front pages of the international press, and most recently in the form of a campaign from the UK Food Standards Agency, FSA. Its message was clear: acrylamide, the chemical responsible for the browning, could be carcinogenic. However, if you investigate the evidence, the jury is still out.