Food Contaminants
high-pesticide-residue produce decreases sperm count
In plain terms: Does eating pesticide-heavy fruit and veg lower your sperm count?
Part of: 🔍 pesticides in food
One study found a striking drop, but nobody independent has ever replicated it, the same team's second population showed nothing, and no man's actual pesticide level was measured. Independent research finds more produce means better sperm quality. Eat the fruit and veg.
📅 Last reviewed: 2026-07-29 ⓘ
Evidence ladder
How far up the ladder this claim has climbed. A high consensus on a low rung means "consistent so far," not "proven in people."
Top evidence so far: Population patterns (Observational)
How the studies fall
What the evidence shows
One well-conducted fertility-clinic cohort found men eating the most high-residue produce had 49% lower total sperm count and 32% lower normal morphology. Three things qualify it heavily. No independent research group has ever replicated the finding. The same group's other population, healthy young men rather than fertility patients, came back null.
The evidence (9)
| Source | Grade | Stance | Quality | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madej D, Granda D, Sicinska E, Kaluza J 2021 · Frontiers in nutrition | observational | mixed | low | DIETARY route, cross-sectional, 90 healthy men aged 18-40 (3-day food record; total fruit/vegetable intake, NOT pesticide-residue-classified) -- INDEPENDENT of the Harvard Chan/EARTH lineage. Highest FV-intake quartile (>734 g/day) had the |
| Wang Z, Fu K, Zhang X, Chen G, Zheng L, Liang Y, Deng WJ, Sun H, Xu Z, Lin H, Hong H 2025 · Ecotoxicology and environmental safety | observational | mixed | low | MIXED/biomonitored route (plasma pesticide + PAH + metal levels, not a clean dietary high/low-residue classification), reproductive-age men in Jinhua, China -- INDEPENDENT of the Harvard Chan/EARTH lineage. Tea and fruit intake were linked |
| Kazemi M, Salas-Huetos A, Mitsunami M, Chiu YH, Hauser R, Souter I, Mínguez-Alarcón L, Chavarro JE, EARTH Study Team 2025 · The American journal of clinical nutrition | observational | mixed | moderate | DIETARY route, male partners in a fertility-clinic prospective cohort (EARTH Study, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Chan -- SAME lineage as the anchor; n=244 men / 437 ART cycles, 2007-2021; USDA Pesticide Data Program surveillance c |
| Liu YS, Zhang YX, Wang XB, Wu QJ, Liu FH, Pan BC, Zhao YH 2022 · Nutrients | observational | mixed | moderate | DIETARY route, hospital-based case-control, China (552 asthenozoospermia cases vs 585 controls, validated FFQ; total/raw vegetable intake, NOT pesticide-residue-classified) -- INDEPENDENT of the Harvard Chan/EARTH lineage. Raw vegetable con |
| Smith-Spangler C, Brandeau ML, Hunter GE, Bavinger JC, Pearson M, Eschbach PJ, Sundaram V, Liu H, Schirmer P, Stave C, Olkin I, Bravata DM 2012 · Annals of internal medicine | observational | mixed | low | DIETARY/population-comparison route (organic- vs conventional-food consumers -- NOT the USDA high/low-pesticide-residue FV classification the anchor uses). 2012 systematic review (17 human comparison studies total, only 3 with clinical outc |
| Chiu YH, Afeiche MC, Gaskins AJ, Williams PL, Petrozza JC, Tanrikut C, Hauser R, Chavarro JE 2015 · Human reproduction (Oxford, England) | observational | supports | moderate | ANCHOR PAPER, FOUND ON RE-SWEEP. DIETARY route, EARTH Study (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health / Massachusetts General Hospital fertility clinic), male partners of subfertile couples (n=155 men, 338 semen samples, 2007-2012 |
| Chiu YH, Gaskins AJ, Williams PL, Mendiola J, Jørgensen N, Levine H, Hauser R, Swan SH, Chavarro JE 2016 · The Journal of nutrition | observational | contradicts | moderate | Chiu 2016 Rochester Young Men's Study, cross-sectional n=189 healthy men 18-22, same Harvard group and USDA-PDP residue score as the anchor clinic cohort: 'the intake of fruit and vegetables with high pesticide residues was unrelated to semen quality' (no estimate in abstract). Low-to-moderate-residue produce was associated with higher sperm count (top vs bottom quartile +169%, 95% CI 45%-400%), a different exposure. Null on the claim's exposure = contradicts. Exposure inferred from FFQ, not measured. [abstract-grade] |
| d10-54844-prm-2026-1231 2026 · Placenta and Reproductive Medicine | observational | supports | low | Narrative review (no new primary data, no independent cohort of its own) states that pesticide residues in conventionally grown produce 'may attenuate the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption via oxidative stress and androgen recepto |
| d10-26258-heal-hua-7802 2026 · Harokopio University | observational | mixed | low | DIETARY route, men from 244 subfertile Greek couples undergoing IVF (Harokopio University undergraduate thesis -- INDEPENDENT of the Harvard Chan/EARTH lineage, but uses a semi-quantitative FFQ on total fruit/vegetable intake, NOT pesticide |
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