Disclosed is a seal assembly for use with a clean-in-place system to allow easier cleaning of a cheese vat. The assembly comprises a seal that fits concentrically around and engages a shaft a seal cover that concentrically surrounds the seal and the shaft so that a cavity is defined between the seal cover and the shaft, the seal cover including a fluid passage for introducing cleaning fluid into the cavity. A hub collar is arranged in the cavity and that includes a side wall with an inner surface that faces toward and is radially spaced from the shaft and an opposing outer surface that faces away from the shaft and is radially spaced from the seal cover. The side wall of the hub collar includes multiple bores extended angularly through the side wall of the hub collar for directing the cleaning fluid angularly or radially toward the shaft so as to establish a fluid flow path within the cavity in which the cleaning fluid flows circumferentially around the shaft. The cavity is adjacent the seal so that the cleaning fluid introduced into the cavity can disengage the seal from an outer circumferential surface of the shaft and flow past the seal for purging the cavity with the cleaning fluid. The seal has a lip that resiliently engages the shaft so that cleaning fluid that is introduced into the cavity can force the lip to disengage from the shaft and allow the cleaning fluid to flow past the seal.
