Re slaycock's approach, you can suppress the error message by embedding the INCLUDETEXT fields in IF fields that test for the error. For example:
{IF{INCLUDETEXT "{FILENAME \p}/../ingredients_1.docx"}<> "Error*" {INCLUDETEXT "{FILENAME \p}/../ingredients_1.docx"}}
Note that the above code assumes the ingredient files are kept in the same folder as the file they're linked to - the field coding employs the Relative Path linking described in http://www.msofficeforums.com/word/3...nal-files.html. If you're not keeping them in the same folder, simply edit the field code to suit.

Note: The field brace pairs (i.e. '{ }') for the above example are all created in the document itself, via Ctrl-F9 (Cmd-F9 on a Mac); you can't simply type them or copy & paste them from this message. Nor is it practical to add them via any of the standard Word dialogues.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]