I’m guessing the fridge is made largely with plastic interiors and that may be the smell you feel…. Try giving it a good clean with bleach and leave it open for a while before you start it up. That should get rid of most of it.
sk, tell us how long it’s been smelling like that.
yes, offgassing can hurt you if you stand around
breathing it – we’ve all heard stories about businesses shutting down
temporarily because new carpeting was making everyone sick.