Readings for reflectance and pH were analysed further because the proportion of carcasses falling in extreme categories can provide an indication of the distribution of PSE (pale, soft and exudative) and DFD (dark, firm and dry) meat between the four stocking density treatments. No trends relating to pH were observed, and the number of carcasses with reflectance readings above 50 (at which point the PSE condition can be observed, Barton-Gade et al., 1996) was negligible for all treatment groups [three (201 kg m−2), three (241 kg m−2), one (281 kg m−2), and one (321 kg m−2)]. Experience with the fibre optic probe used in this experiment would suggest that a cut-off point of 20 would be most appropriate to estimate the number of potentially DFD carcasses in each of the stocking densities. There were no treatment effects on the distribution of pigs with readings below 20.