The parent comment said "You can chose to stop getting an alert if a particular device is following you". I don't see how what they said applies to your scenario, given your scenario is literally the opposite.

Since you weren't near the airtags, you couldn't have stopped them from beeping/following you. But whoever was at your home near the airtags (presumably the person who put them in the fridge) had the ability to disable them from beeping/following them.