How are sauces placed onto frozen meal components?

In the production of frozen meals, sauces are transported to the assembly area using pumps. Once the other meal components, such as meat, pasta, or vegetables, have been placed into their trays via automated depositing machines, the sauce is dispensed directly onto the specific components to coat them.1

This process is part of a highly sequenced assembly line where trays move along conveyor belts under the depositing equipment. Before this stage, sauces are prepared by blending ingredients in cooking vessels, cooled using plate heat exchangers, and stored in chilled holding tanks to ensure quality and safety.12