diff --git a/classification_service/mule.py b/classification_service/mule.py
index cb0c7f7..cd197d8 100644
--- a/classification_service/mule.py
+++ b/classification_service/mule.py
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ def main():
         message = uwsgi.mule_get_msg()
         task = json.loads(message)
         results = run_classification(task)
-        channel.basic_publish(exchange=os.environ['PIKA_EXCHANGE'], routing_key='classification-result', body=results)
+        channel.basic_publish(exchange=os.environ['PIKA_EXCHANGE'], routing_key='classification-result', body=json.dumps(results).encode("utf-8"))
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':