The safety evaluation of genetically modified (GM) foodstuffs is a highlighted research topic. European consumers are cautious with GM plants, their release into the environment and the consumption of GM foods. Technological changes and achievements are more and more difficult to be understood and thought to bring additional risks into consumers’ life. Consumers perceive risks on a different way than experts. This article summarises results of two surveys, carried on between 2003 and 2005. In first survey 556 respondents were involved focusing on food safety than 1000 respondents were involved in the questioning survey intending to reveal consumers’ knowledge and opinion about GM products and techniques. The opinion of consumers and professionals about gene technology is mostly negative as far as 35% of the consumers can recall more negative than positive information about GM foodstuffs and 13% can recall only negative ones. Nevertheless even if Hungarian consumers predominantly refuse GM products this proportion is approximately the same as in Western-Europe. According to 73% of the respondents it is essential to indicate the GM content on the packaging. Consumers are not sufficiently aware of the concept of biotechnology and often misunderstand it. The results reflect the insufficient information level of the Hungarian consumer and the misunderstanding of biotechnology concept.