diff --git a/backup/backup.sh b/backup/backup.sh
index 0752331..096fe5a 100644
--- a/backup/backup.sh
+++ b/backup/backup.sh
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ add_item() {
 finish() {
   local status="$1" error_msg="${2:-}"
   local run_finished=$(date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')
-  local items=$(cat "$ITEMS_FILE")
+  local items=$(jq -c '.' "$ITEMS_FILE")
   local error_json='null'
   [ -n "$error_msg" ] && error_json="\"$(echo "$error_msg" | sed 's/"/\\"/g')\""
   rm -f "$ITEMS_FILE" "${ITEMS_FILE}.tmp"