In 1995, few transgenic crops received marketing approval. The modification allowed the tomato to delay ripening after picking. In 1994, the transgenic вЂFlavour Saver tomatoвЂ™ was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing in the USA. China was the first country to commercialize a transgenic crop in the early 1990s with the introduction of virus resistant tobacco. The first genetically modified (GM) plant was produced in 1983, using an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant. It is now known that there are several mechanisms for DNA transfer and that these occur in nature on a large scale, for example, it is a major mechanism for antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. Scientists first discovered in 1946 that DNA can be transferred between organisms (Clive 2011). With this new technology on gene manipulation what are the risks of вЂњtampering with Mother NatureвЂќ?, what effects will this have on the environment?, what are the health concerns that consumers should be aware of? and is recombinant technology really beneficial? This review will also address some major concerns about the safety, environmental and ecological risks and health hazards involved with GM foods and recombinant technology. Controversies and public concern surrounding GM foods and crops commonly focus on human and environmental safety, labelling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction and environmental conservation.

Like all new technologies, they also pose some risks, both known and unknown.

Technologies for genetically modifying foods offer dramatic promise for meeting some areas of greatest challenge for the 21st century. There are bananas that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, fish that mature more quickly, fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties. Other crops grown commercially and/or field-tested are sweet potato resistant to a virus that could destroy most of the African harvest, rice with increased iron and vitamins that may alleviate chronic malnutrition in Asian countries and a variety of plants that are able to survive weather extremes. The principal transgenic crops grown commercially in field are herbicide and insecticide resistant soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. Combining genes from different organisms is known as recombinant DNA technology and the resulting organism is said to be вЂGenetically modified (GM)вЂ™, вЂGenetically engineeredвЂ™ or вЂTransgenicвЂ™. Genetic modification is a special set of gene technology that alters the genetic machinery of such living organisms as animals, plants or microorganisms.

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