Genetic modification may be a special set of gene technology that alters the genetic machinery of such living organisms as animals, plants or microorganisms. Combining genes from different organisms is understood as recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid technology and therefore the resulting organism is claimed to be ‘Genetically modified (GM)’, ‘Genetically engineered’ or ‘Transgenic’. The principal transgenic crops grown commercially in field are herbicide and insecticide resistant soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. Other crops grown commercially and/or field-tested are sweet potato immune to an epidemic that would destroy most of the African harvest, rice with increased iron and vitamins which will alleviate chronic malnutrition in Asian countries and a spread of plants that are ready to survive weather extremes. There are bananas that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases like hepatitis B , fish that mature more quickly, fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties. Technologies for genetically modifying foods offer dramatic promise for meeting some areas of greatest challenge for the 21st century. Like all new technologies, they also pose some risks, both known and unknown. Controversies and public concern surrounding GM foods and crops commonly specialise in human and environmental safety, labelling and consumer choice, property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction and environmental conservation. With this new technology on gene manipulation what are the risks of “tampering with Mother Nature”?, what effects will this wear the environment?, what are the health concerns that buyers should remember of? and is recombinant technology really beneficial? This review also will address some major concerns about the security , environmental and ecological risks and health hazards involved GM foods and recombinant technology.
At present there are several GM crops used as food sources. As of now there are not any GM animals approved to be used as food, but a GM salmon has been proposed for FDA approval. In instances, the merchandise is directly consumed as food, but in most of the cases, crops that are genetically modified are sold as commodities, which are further processed into food ingredients.