Food preservation in refrigerator [duplicate]

I am an international student in France and as I live alone, products are put in fridge for later use after being opened. Two months in and I never had a problem with storing food in it but today I opened my plastic-sealed prosciutto only to realise that mold had build up in it. I checked the expiration date and it had another 2 months until it went rotten.
After further inspection, it turned out that the chicken nuggets, this time opened, had been severely infected by mold too. Needless to say that I threw away every meat in my fridge afterwards.
I wanted to ask whether a possible cause might have been an inadequate, high temperature? The gradient was set on 2nd level but it was enough for ice to freeze on the inside. Moreover, what's a rule of thumb for the maximum time of fridge-storage for some categories of food?

freezing food-preservation

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How does refrigerator preserve food?

Refrigeration slows bacterial growth. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water, and the foods we eat. When they have nutrients (food), moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow rapidly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can cause illness.

How does refrigeration affect food preservation?

The most common food preserving method is to store food in the refrigerator. Refrigeration (cold temperature) slows down the bad bacterial growth greatly, so food lasts 10 or more times longer to spoil. Label raw meat etc so they are only stored for a day or two in the refrigerator prior to being cooked and consumed.

Why are leftover foods kept in refrigerator?

We refrigerate food to keep bacteria, yeasts, and molds from the favorable temperature they need to grow. The moisture-control available in many refrigerators also helps slow the deterioration of foods, so that two of the three favorable situations for microorganism growth are eliminated.

How long does a fridge preserve food?

Then, remember these additional, two rules: the refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours (if the door is unopened) while a full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours with a closed door.

How to preserve and keep food fresh using a zeer pot clay fridge

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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