Is some of the merchandise supposed to smell bad?

Hi. I work at homegoods. I was flowing tanks earlier this week and some gift boxes were left in the plastic wrapping from when they were shipped out I guess.

I unwrapped them and a really strong chemical smell hit me. I was dizzy and nauseous for 30mins after and it affected my work performance (I took a break). I asked a coworker about it and she said sometimes they just smell weird. I checked back on them before I left and the smell mostly dissapated so IDK if it’s just from them being in a bag or if there was silica beads in there or something. Is this normal for the gift boxes or any other merchandise? Is this dangerous or is it safe? Is there a protocol for pulling items off the shelves or reporting them (to manager/boss/or corporate) for possible recall if it’s possible for them to pose a danger to customers or employees? And if so, does that happen before or after an official ‘recall’ (like doing it ASAP to prevent any harm, which may lead to lots of false positives and or time spent moving around items or only doing it if corporate says something)?

Thank you.