In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a material, such as a plastic film, is used to separate independent food elements. The independent food elements and the separation material are packaged together using a unifying outer package. At a point in time when the customer decides to eat the food, the outer package is opened and the film that separates the different food elements is removed, either manually or automatically. This marks the first point in time that the separate elements come into contact with each other. Therefore, the food product is maintained at the highest level of integrity until the time of usage by the customer. Methods and a machine for layering the contents of the packages so as to form a completed assembly for the packaged elements is also described.