SEC Begins Inquiry of Interstate Bakeries

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the maker of Wonder Bread and Hostess Twinkies, said the Securities and Exchange Commission had begun an inquiry after the company hired a law firm to review reserves for worker-compensation insurance.

The SEC review is informal and the agency hasn’t determined whether any violations occurred, Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate said.

Workers’ compensation costs, primarily in California, have risen so fast in the last year that Interstate may have to restate its fiscal 2004 earnings, the company said.

Shares of Interstate fell 37 cents to $9.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.