Just as Britain's BSE-hit beef farmers seemed set for fairer market conditions, more bad news - poultry is staging a comeback in the fast food sector.

Chicken specialist KFC is on track to outsell rival Burger King in the UK for the first time ever, with anticipated sales of �400m this year, the company told The Guardian newspaper.

The challenge from KFC comes as Burger King has struggled to recover from the impact of the foot-and-mouth crisis earlier this year, which deterred many consumers from eating beef.

A successful displacement of Burger King by KFC would mark a major realignment in the UK fast food market.

It would also complete a strong recovery by KFC, which 10 years ago was hit by a sharp decline in sales amid growing consumer fears over the health impact of eating fried chicken.

The company changed its name from Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1992 in order to reduce its association with fried food.

Beef out of favour

Analysts have long warned that Burger King, the UK's second-placed fast food outlet after McDonalds, faced stiff competition from rivals placing greater emphasis on fish, poultry, and non-meat products.

Burger King has been slow to introduce fish and poultry-based products despite long-term consumer trends showing a shift away from red meat.

Non-beef products now account for more than half of McDonalds' sales worldwide.

McDonalds still top

In September, Burger King's parent company Diageo, owners of Guinness, postponed a planned partial flotation of the burger chain for six months, citing "challenging" market conditions in Europe.

Sales at the burger chain's European operations fell by 9% in the year to 30 June.

KFC said on Wednesday it plans to press home its advantage with an �18m advertising campaign in the new year.

McDonalds remains the undisputed leader of the UK fast food industry, with a market share of 26% compared to KFC's 5.6%, according to research firm Taylor Nelson.