The aim of the study was to assess the nutritional composition of thermized dates palm fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivated in Algeria and stored under Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). In this research, fresh dates palm fruits at harvest (Phoenix dactylifera L.) have been subjected at heat treatment at 55 ± 2 °C for 20 minutes in a ventilated oven. The samples were packed in specific Polyethylene Terephthalate packaging (PET) bags with a thickness of 2.5 μm under MAP condition. The effect of these heat treatment on date fruits quality was investigated during 5 months of storage at room temperature storage (22 ± 1 °C of temperature with 75% to 80% of relative humidity (RH), and 10 ± 1 °C 85% to 90% of RH). Physicochemical and biochemical composition of the samples were studied. Results indicated that during storage the Brix degree, protein, and vitamin C content changed significantly (p<0.05). The major change was observed for lipid values varied from about 0.02 to 0.06% at 10°C, and 0.04 to 0.07% at 22°C for samples not thermized unpacked after 5 months of storage, these results represent a highly significant difference (p<0.01). Harvesting at Tamr stage followed by treating the fruits with heat disinfestation packed in MAP, and storing at 10 ± 1 °C showed to be a promising method for maintaining dates fruits storage quality.

Keywords: Keywords: Phoenix dactylifera L., Shelf life, Storage, MAP, Disinfestation.