It is produced industrially mainly as a precursor to polyacrylamides, which find many uses as water-soluble thickeners and flocculation agents.

These functions are valuable in the purification of drinking water, corrosion inhibition, mineral extraction, and paper making.

[6] Acrylamide can arise in some cooked foods via a series of steps by the reaction of the amino acid asparagine and glucose.

[11] IARC, NTP, and the EPA have classified it as a probable carcinogen, although epidemiological studies (as of 2019) suggest that dietary acrylamide consumption does not significantly increase people's risk of developing cancer.

[9][13] Food industry workers exposed to twice the average level of acrylamide do not exhibit higher cancer rates.

[9] The American Cancer Society says that laboratory studies have shown that acrylamide is likely to be a carcinogen, but that as of 2019[update] evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that dietary acrylamide is unlikely to raise the risk of people developing most common types of cancer.

[15] Laboratory research has found that some phytochemicals may have the potential to be developed into drugs which could alleviate the toxicity of acrylamide.

Although researchers are still unsure of the precise mechanisms by which acrylamide forms in foods,[22] many believe it is a byproduct of the Maillard reaction.

In fried or baked goods, acrylamide may be produced by the reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars (fructose, glucose, etc.)

[31][32] It has been shown in one study to cause an increase in blood acrylamide levels three-fold greater than any dietary factor.