The use of statistical software in food science and technology: Advantages, limitations and misuses

Strict requirements of scientific journals allied to the need to prove the experimental data are (in)significant from the statistical standpoint have led to a steep increase in the use and development of statistical software. In this aspect, it is observed that the increasing number of software tools and packages and their wide usage has created a generation of ‘click and go’ users, who are eagerly destined to obtain the p-values and multivariate graphs (projection of samples and variables on the factor plane), but have no idea on how the statistical parameters are calculated and the theoretical and practical reasons he/she performed such tests. However, in this paper, some published examples are listed and discussed in detail to provide a holistic insight (positive points and limitations) about the uses and misuses of some statistical methods using different available statistical software. Additionally, a brief description of several commercial and free statistical software is made highlighting their advantages and limitations. •This paper is a guide to help the Food Scientist in the statistical evaluation of data.•A comparison of some free and commercial statistical packages is described.