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By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

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Wendy's on Prospect Street has reopened its doors to the public after a complete cleaning and double-checking its processes and procedures.

The fast food eatery voluntarily closed its doors Monday to undertake the cleaning and quality control review.

The restaurant reopened at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

"We've had the majority of our staff retrained in proper food handling and we've sanitized and cleaned the building top to bottom," said local store franchisee Dan Moore.

"We really wanted to ensure that we were 100 per cent ready to reopen."

The extra precautions were taken after six confirmed cases of E. coli were reported to New Brunswick's Department of Health by patrons who ate at the restaurant prior to Oct. 27.

The common denominator in the cases was salads consumed by the customers.

Moore said the provincial Health Department is still reviewing the cases and he hasn't had a final word yet from the province on a specific cause for the cases of illness.

Moore said Wednesday that he invited the Health Department to revisit the business Tuesday to give the operation a once-over and a clean bill of health to reopen its doors.

That too was voluntary because the provincial Health Department didn't, at any stage of its review, order that the restaurant be shut down.

Moore said he decided to go the extra mile because he feels the health and safety of his customers is paramount.

Wendy's Canada personnel and quality assurance representatives from the United States flew into the capital city to help Moore ascertain whether the restaurant was following all essential quality control procedures.