Nondestructive and multiplex differentiation of pathogenic microorganisms from spoilage microflora on seafood using paper chromogenic array and neural network

•Paper chromogenic array (PCA) integrated with machine learning (ML) was developed.•PCA exhibit distinguishable pattern shifts when reacting volatile metabolites.•PCA pattern recognition achieved using a cross-validated neural network.•PCA accurately identify multiplexed pathogens from indigenous microflora.•The nondestructive PCA-ML holds great potential as a smart food safety system.