Vegan protesters caused a commotion during filming of one of Australia's most-popular reality television shows in Melbourne yesterday.

Masterchef judges and contestants were taking part in an outdoor challenge at South Melbourne Markets when the protesters waving posters descended on the filming location.

A variety of different animals were printed on the posters. They included a cow, pig, chicken, sheep, crayfish, salmon, prawn, deer, kangaroo, shark, quail, pheasant, goat, turkey, rabbit and duck.

Despite each poster containing a different animal, they all featured the same message: "I am not an ingredient. I am someone."

The protesters claim they remained peaceful during the show's production.

"A group of Melbourne vegan activists stood peacefully in the crowd of people watching the Masterchef Australia filming," Animal Truth wrote on their Facebook page.

"They did this to open people's eyes about who they have on their plate."

Matt Preston, George Colombaris and Gary Mehigan - the show's presenters and judges - did not mention the incident on social media.

Animal Truth claim their attempts yesterday to "educate" the public were a success.

"The activists were able to calmly educate the public about choosing kinder choices for their meals and how many amazing vegan food choices are out there," they wrote.

"The vegan seeds were planted this day and it was a wonderful success all round."

Endemol Shine Australia, the production company behind Masterchef, confirmed to nine.com.au that the protesters were not aggressive.

The group claim to have remained peaceful during the reality food competition show's outdoor challenge (Image: Facebook/Animal Truth)