This study aims to investigate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) against five strains of Salmonella enterica at 37°C. The in vivo antimicrobial activities of 2.5% chitosan or 9% gelatin coatings containing 0.0–10.0% PPE against S. enterica, total mesophilic bacterial count, and yeasts and molds on Medjool dates at 4°C and 24°C for 56 days were also investigated. Salmonella-inoculated Majdool dates dipped in distilled water were deemed as the control. The pH, water activity (aw), and color changes of Medjool date homogenates were also evaluated. The mini- mum inhibitory concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations of PPE ranged from 7.81 to 15.63 mg/mL and 15.63 to 31.25 mg/mL, respectively, against S. enterica at 37°C. In general, S. enterica survival on dates was more pronounced at 4°C than at 24°C, regardless of the treatment. Further, the initial numbers of S. enterica (3.9–5.5 log colony-forming unit [CFU]/g) in dates coated with either gelatin or chitosan containing 2.5–10.0% PPE at 24°C were reduced to non-detect- able levels by enrichment (<1 CFU/15 g) after 56 days of storage. At 4°C, S. enterica was significantly reduced (p ≤ 0.05) by 1.3 log CFU/g to >4.5 log CFU/g by day 56 on PPE-coated dates, compared to uncoated samples. Yeast and molds on the treated dates were reduced below detectable levels (2 log CFU/g) on day 42 at both 4°C and 24°C. Coating type or PPE did not affect the appearance of dates, but only slightly affected the overall acceptability of the product. The current study demonstrates that using PPE incorporated into chitosan or gelatin could be used as an effective natural strategy to enhance the safety of dates.​