In recent years, food waste has garnered a great deal of attention both in the U.S. and globally. This is especially important as an estimate of one third of food produced globally ends up going to waste. Food waste contributes to an unnecessary depletion of economic and environmental resources. In the United States, dairy products are among the top three largest food groups that contribute to the total volume of food wasted, with fluid milk comprising of 65% of the group.The work here aims to improve shelf life and address food waste by: (1) providing a tool to allow for fluid milk shelf life prediction and evaluation of interventions to extend shelf life, (2) assessing the economic and environmental impact of processing plant interventions to reduce fluid milk waste, (3) exploring alternative ways to communicate and manage best-by dates in a retail setting and (4) evaluating how a poor experience with fluid milk can affect store choice and customer loyalty. Overall, the results of these studies provide an understanding of technical tools and potential implementations that can be used to reduce fluid milk spoilage and consumer food waste behavior.