Hostess Twinkies. (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) – There are reports out Tuesday that, for the second time in less than a decade, Irving-based Hostess Brands Inc. is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection.

Technically the company would be entering a Chapter 22 bankruptcy, since Hostess had already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004 – that protection ended in February 2009.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies is dealing with high labor expenses and rising ingredient costs and is more than $860 million in debt.

Some are speculating a shift toward healthier eating and whole grain baking could have contributed to the second bankruptcy filing. According to a Chicago-based market-research firm, sales of Hostess Twinkies have declined with nearly 36 million packages sold in 2011. That’s a drop of almost 2-percent from 2010.

Hostess Brands operates in 49 states and employs some 19,000 workers. According to the company’s website, their annual sales are about $2 billion.