A brewery in Colorado also had their first entire brew of an IPA (60 barrels) ruined by contamination in 2021 from this very problem. After an investigation of where the contamination came from, it was found that a regular ball valve on the cold-side transfer line was covered in biofilm because of the beer stone that had built up in the crevices of the valve over several months of production.
The head brewer told us later that he did not know the difference between "sanitary" and "non-sanitary", so the initial choice of the original installer (a quarter of a price difference) was a mistake. He continued by saying "this one batch cost me enough money to buy twenty of the right valves". This story illustrates the basic difference: a sanitary valve is designed so that it can be cleaned, whereas the regular valve is NOT designed to be cleaned and will have a greater cost in the long run than the initial purchase price.
Defining the Divide: What Makes a Valve “Sanitary”
A sanitary or hygienic valve is built specifically for applications in which cleaning and maintaining the purity of the product is essential. All internal surfaces of a sanitary valve that come in contact with the process fluid are designed to be crevice-free, smooth and capable of complete drainage. In contrast, an industrial valve is designed primarily for pressure containment, cost and compatibility with various chemicals.
The internal geometry of industrial valves often contains features (e.g., threads, cavities, dead space) that may provide hiding places for product from which bacteria can grow. The understanding of this basic difference provides the first step toward selecting the appropriate component for applications such as food, dairy, pharmaceutical and semiconductor processing. Our introduction to what a sanitary fitting is covers the broader component category of which sanitary valves are a key part.
Internal Geometry: The Battle Against Dead Legs
The primary distinction between two different types of valves results from the manner in which product flows through the valve. When a sanitary valve body is formed, machining or investment casting creates an uninterrupted, smooth bore of continuous flow which has no cavity extending below the centerline of the flow. In a ball valve, there is a hole drilled through the ball to match the internal diameter of the tubing, and the sealing surfaces of the ball and seat are flush with one another. In diaphragm valves, the design of the weir ensures that the cavity between the diaphragm and the body is completely closed, and the sealing surface is also flush.
Each of the parts of sanitary valves (valve body, stem, seat) are configured such that product cannot enter into a zone where CIP solution cannot drain fully or drain by gravity. Non-sanitary valves generally will have a cavity formed between the ball and body that will collect and retain product regardless of valve position. That cavity will act as an excellent breeding ground for bacterial contamination. For a detailed look at how this design philosophy applies to the most common quarter‑turn valves in hygienic service, our sanitary ball valve collection shows the full‑bore, flush‑seated construction that defines a cleanable ball valve.
Material Selection: Why 316L Is the Starting Point
The material choices for a non-sanitary valve body may include cast iron, brass, 304 stainless steel, and carbon steel; the material options for a sanitary valve body start with 316L stainless steel and go up from there. The reason is that sanitary valves should have a high degree of corrosion resistance when repeatedly subjected to harsh cleaning agents such as hot caustic soda, phosphoric acid and peracetic acid sanitizers at high temperatures. Under these conditions, standard 304 stainless will develop pitting corrosion while 316L with its added molybdenum content offers much greater protection against various forms of corrosion, including pitting and crevice corrosion.
For the most demanding pharmaceutical applications, 316L is often specified with very low sulfur levels, using vacuum melt processes to eliminate contaminants from inclusions in the melt.Our comparison of 304 vs 316 stainless steel details the chemical and mechanical differences that make 316L the default for hygienic processing. Beyond the metal, the elastomer seals in a sanitary valve — EPDM, Viton, or PTFE — are FDA‑conformant and designed to withstand hundreds of SIP cycles at 130°C without hardening or leaching.
Surface Finish and Electropolishing: The Ra Value That Protects Product
Non-sanitary valves have an industrial finish that is not sanitary; it may have been cast raw (from the foundry), or left with a rough surface finish (i.e., within Ra = 32 to 97 Léonard) due to mechanical polishing. An example of this type of surface structure can be visualized by looking through a microscope; a mountain range formed by many peaks and valleys that bacteria attach to, products are retained on, and where cleaning solutions cannot make contact with the exposed surface of the metal. A sanitary valve is polished mechanically giving the internal surface a baseline finish of Ra = 20 - 32, and then electropolished.
Electropolishing removes the microscopic peaks, levels the surface of the valve, and adds chromium to form a passive oxide layer which helps to inhibit corrosion. The final result is an interior that appears to have a mirror finish, will be cleaned thoroughly, and will not produce oxides in high purity (i.e., deionized) water systems. For the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries, surface finish requirements are specified in ASME BPE standard, which establishes precise Ra values and measurement procedures. Our article on what the ASME BPE certificate means explains how that standard defines and verifies the surface quality required for high‑purity valves.
Connection and Assembly: Tri‑Clamp vs. Threaded
One visual aspect of the sanitary valve that can help identify its sanitary design is how the valve is connected to the piping system. Most sanitary valves have a clamp type connection, such as the Tri-Clamp or Tri-Clover connection, as opposed to NPT connections. NPT connections have crevices, they require the use of thread tape, and they cannot be CIP cleaned properly. Tri-Clamp connections have a gasket and a clamp that create a flush, crevice free connection and can be disconnected quickly and easily by hand without any tools.
This enables operators to break a line down for swabbing, valve upkeep, or inspection and put it back together with a new gasket thereby recreating a complete seal. For permanent installation, there is also the option of using a butt-weld connection, which must also be orbital welded and inspected to maintain the same internal smoothness. Another aspect of sanitary design required by 3-A Sanitary Standards is that sanitary valves are able to be completely disassembled (e.g., a three-piece ball valve consists of three pieces, a body, ball and seats) in order to facilitate validated cleaning processes. Eagle Fittings manufactures a variety of sanitary valves (both Tri-Clamp and weld-end configurations) that have been designed for easy disassembly and full drainability.
Application Context: Where the Difference Is Non‑Negotiable
Sanitary ball valves must be used wherever process fluids (such as food sauces or medical solutions) contact items that will be used for consumption or injection. The main industries affected by sanitary ball valves include:
- Dairy and infant formula: Protein and fat provide a great deal of nutrients for bacteria to grow in the environment. A contaminated valve, which remains open for an extended period of time (‘dead leg’), can result in spoilage for an entire day's production.
- Brewing and beverage: The process of cold-side production is particularly susceptible to contamination. In particular, beer has much lower alcohol level and lower pH than spirits, thus making the beer vulnerable to lactobacillus and pediococcus from bad valve cleaning.
- Pharmaceutical and biotech: Valve materials must meet the following requirements for injectable medications, vaccines, and biologically compatible products: 1) Sterilization using steam under pressure (SIP); 2) Provide documentation with traceability of the component materials; 3) Provide certification for the surface finish of the valve parts.
- Semiconductor ultrapure water: Chip production can be negatively impacted by small particles and/or ions produced by the opening of a valve. High purity sanitary valves with electropolished surfaces and low outgassing seals are specified for use.
For a broader view of how these valves integrate into complete hygienic piping systems, our guide to pharmaceutical equipment pipes and fittings details the system‑level design principles that ensure every component, from tube to valve to fitting, meets the same cleanability standard.
How Eagle Fittings Helps You Make the Right Choice
Eagle Fittings manufactures sanitary valves, bridging the gap between specification and actual performance as a valve manufactured from fully traceable 316L stainless steel (electropolished to Ra's your process requires) assembled standard with FDA conforming elastomers hydrostatically tested and pneumatically tested, including, with every valve purchased, a material test report and certification of surface finish. Tri-Clamp sanitary valves ship ready to install into your existing pipeline. Our engineering team can consult with you about the specification of the appropriate valve, size and connection standard that will fit your product and cleaning requirements. The Colorado brewery that learned a painful lesson is now a satisfied customer of Eagle Fittings; their cold-side transfer lines now exclusively run valves capable of being completely disassembled, inspected and sterilized; since making the switch, they have not had a dumper due to contamination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a sanitary valve?
Therefore, a sanitary valve is used in controlling the fluids and is designed for the use of hygienic processing. The construction consists of a smooth, crevice-free interior usually constructed of 316L stainless steel with the surface finish having been electropolished. In addition, they are made to clean-in-place (CIP) and sterilize-in-place (SIP) and can be used to control fluids in food, beverage, dairy, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor industries where product purity and preventing contamination are of utmost importance.
What are the two types of valves?
There are two main types of valve movements: Linear (gate, globe, and diaphragm) valves have a straight line closure element movement while rotary (ball, butterfly, plug) valves will rotate their closure elements at least 90 degrees or more. Each category has both types of motions represented. For example, diaphragm valve has a linear closing motion, while ball and butterfly valves have rotary closing motions, but they all meet the cleanability requirements predetermined for each application.
What are the three types of shower valves?
A category of plumbing valve specifically for use in residential bathrooms to regulate the flow and temperature of water from a showerhead is referred to as a shower valve. There are three major types of shower valves that you can purchase to use in your bathroom: pressure balancing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, and diverter valves. Shower valves are not sanitary valves in the same way that industrial or processing sanitary valves are; rather, they are designed to control water for residential use and do not meet the requirements for cleanability or materials needed to be used in food, pharmaceutical, or semiconductor processing.
What are the 4 types of control valves?
There are four basic types of valves used for controlling industrial processes: globe (control), butterfly (off), ball (off) and eccentric wedge (throttle). All of these types of valves provide different types of control over flow characteristics, pressure recovery and rangeability. For sanitary processing, sanitary versions of these valves are also available in the form of sanitary globe and sanitary butterfly control valves that have a crevice-free inner surface, an electropolished finish and Tri-Clamp connections needed to ensure the product's safety during cleaning and/or manufacture.
Sanitary versus non-sanitary valves is a categorical distinction in how equipment can be cleaned, validated, and without potential contamination. For example, a brewery in Colorado lost a single product because a valve on an IPA line was not cleanable. Similarly, in an injectable line within the pharmaceutical industry, a single uncleanable valve can result in a company having to recall the entire product line. There are certain principles that govern the design of sanitary valves, including internal geometries that have been flushed, are made from 316L materials, have been electropolished and have Tri-Clamp connections. Those principles represent the acceptance of safety in the process of manufactured products. Eagle Fittings manufactures and supplies sanitary valves which inherently embody those principles and support their claims with certification, testing documentation, and engineering support.
