The Department of Agriculture announced on Friday they have given the green-light to four companies in China that will begin processing chickens slaughtered in the United States. 

According to the New York Times, the four Chinese poultry processors will begin shipping a limited amount of meat. The chickens will be raised and slaughtered in the U.S. or Canada and then sent to China for processing. They will then be cooked in some capacity and sent back to America for consumption.

Under the new rules, the Chinese facilities will verify that cooked products exported to the United States came from American or Canadian birds. According to the New York Times, there will not require country-of-origin labeling. 

But many critics worry that the USDA will not have any control over or attempt to monitor the process that will take place in China. The chickens will simply have to pass USDA regulations once back in U.S. 

"This is the first step towards allowing China to export its own domestic chickens to the U.S.," said Tony Corbo, the senior lobbyist for Food and Water Watch, an advocacy group that works to promote food safety, according to New York Times. 

In recent years, imports have been the source of contamination, prompting broader worries about food safety. The country has had frequent outbreaks of deadly avian influenza. 

According to the Food and Drug Administration, investigation had tied the deaths of more than 500 dogs and a handful of cats to chicken jerky treats that came from China. The treats were blamed for sickening more than 2,500 animals.