How does my pre-cooked Costco chicken breast not expire for another 5 weeks? I bought some &quot;fully cooked chicken breast strips&quot; that are seasoned and has grill lines on them. They're quite tasty. Ingredients also include salt, potato starch, and vinegar.
The label says &quot;best before&quot; a date that is 5 weeks from now. I don't think there is enough salt or vinegar to preserve these since the chicken tastes like normal chicken and these aren't &quot;cured&quot; or pickled or the like. My understanding is cooked chicken usually goes bad after about 5-7 days.
How is this possible?
Keep in mind that the best before date is only valid until the package is opened.  Once it is opened, you must treat the chicken strips as if they were fresh and consume them within a few days.
Most likely the chicken is using 'modified atmosphere packaging' (MAP).  It's a very common method used to extend shelf life of meats and vegetables but since it doesn't look a whole lot different than regular packaging, many consumers aren't aware of it.  Wikipedia has explained the process fairly well.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_atmosphere