DRINKS firm Diageo's Burger King business has been hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Customer concerns about the disease have seen a knock-on effect on sales at the burger chain across Europe where memories of BSE were still rife, the company said.

Diageo has been looking at either selling Burger King or floating it as a separate business on the stock market, as it pulls out of its food concerns.

It said in a year-end trading update yesterday that sales across the business "remained negative" on a comparable basis worldwide.

A restructuring programme already put in place by Burger King's new management team would mean a one-off cost of £50m this year, Diageo said.

It also said its US-based Pillsbury business, which includes Haagen Dazs ice-cream and Green Giant, was suffering.

It said Pillsbury was being hit by uncertainty surrounding its merger with General Mills and the US slowdown.

Diageo announced the merger of Pillsbury with General Mills last year but the deal still has to be approved by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Growth remained strong, however, across the key drinks business, Guinness UDV, which includes leading brands such as Smirnoff and the stout.

Investment behind the brands was paying off, Diageo said.

, with strong sales in both established and emerging markets.