Stuff like [this](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/825620/woolworths-chicken-pad-thai-with-rice-noodles). It’s kept at room temperature but has cooked chicken in it, whereas generally you’re advised to refrigerator cooked poultry within 2 hours for it to be safe. This has been kept at room temperature for months and can last in the cupboard for nearly a year.
Is it just because it’s sealed and kept free of mold spores and bacteria after being cooked?
In: Chemistry
So canned foods are heated past where bacteria can survive, and then stored free of bacteria in an airtight container where it can not enter or grow.
The food you have there is freeze dried or dehydrated, so you must add water and heat it to bring it back to life before eating. The fact that there is no moisture slows the spoiling process down significantly. Bacteria needs moisture to live and grow (basically like anything living).
Pretty much, yes. Both the product and the container (presumably the chicken in this case comes in a pouch) are sterilized prior to packing, and the packing itself takes place in a sterile environment to ensure no microbes are introduced.
It is a similar principle to canning, although in that case the product is heated after being sealed in the can in order to sterilize it. (Not sure that works with soft pouches, but it could actually be that they do it that way here as well).
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