Joe Kent, Michael Angelo's director of marketing, says the company's made-to-order processing philosophy takes "Mom's personal touch from the kitchen to the production line, ensuring that the quality, authenticity and integrity of the product are not lost in the process". He goes on to say "When you are using more expensive, high quality ingredients than the competition - like our imported Pecorino Romano and Reggiano Parmesan, or our traditionally made pasta, premium fresh cuts of beef and chicken or our specially grown tomatoes we use in our sauce - you can't afford to let these ingredients sit around in a warehouse getting stale. Our process not only provides freshness you can taste - it allows us the ability to be competitive in a very tough market and category. This is the true benefit to our customers and our consumers."

Kent gives R&FF a closer look at how "just-in-time" processing works by outlining the made-to-order steps of Michael Angelo's Eggplant Parmesan.

1. Eggplant arrives fresh after traveling to the plant in a temperature-controlled environment.
2. Fresh eggplant are sliced, breaded and flash fried upon arrival.
3. Eggplant is assembled in trays on the line and sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and Romano cheeses are added.
4. Entrees are flash frozen, packaged, staged in racks for trucking and shipped
5. The entire process typically takes about 36 hours from start to ship.